Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Miami Heat hold off Detroit Pistons in home opener

For the Miami Heat’s 36th season debut, 19,695 spectators filled the Kaseya Center as it hosted Detroit’s young Pistons. Early, the reigning East champs allowed its guests to record 11 of 19 first-quarter field goals, including five triples. Yet, despite shooting 25.8% higher from the field in the first quarter, coach Monty Williams’ squad only held a three-point lead because of eight turnovers, five of which were Miami steals.

Offensively, Tyler Herro was shooting blanks, missing seven of his first eight tries, but Bam Adebayo opened with seven points. Jimmy Butler dropped four baskets in a row after missing two. For the Pistons, third-year point guard Cade Cunningham maneuvered to the midrange and cup, shooting over Kyle Lowry, Caleb Martin and Herro. Rookie guard Ausar Thompson swatted three Heat shots, defending the ball handler and swarming Butler twice after he caught a backdoor pass under the rim.

In the second quarter, Miami permitted just 31.8% of Detroit’s attempts to fall, held Thompson to a make out of seven and logged four additional steals. But Cunningham still beat drop coverage and switches easily, raising his output to 18 points on eight of 11 shots with two assists in the first half.

Of Miami’s six assists in the second interval, Duncan Robinson was involved in four as a passer or scorer. Rookie Jaime Jaquez and Butler set up the other two. Kevin Love’s outlet passing didn’t translate to dimes, but it put the Heat in the fast lane in transition.

At halftime, the Heat was up 58-47 but behind on the glass by six. Detroit’s Isaiah Stewart, Jalen Duren and Thompson, combined for 19 of its 27 boards, seven being offensive, turning into eight second-chance points. Miami wasn’t protecting the arc well either. However, it forced 12 misses in the paint, allowing Detroit only a dozen points in the square.

In the second half, Miami’s offense dropped off significantly because Detroit pressured the ball and sagged off Lowry to bother paint penetration or a nearby shooter. Yet, the hosts hammered the offensive glass, recovering eight boards and earned a handful of more trips to the line.

With over nine minutes left, the Heatles were up 19 points. That lead was reduced to one as Miami’s staunch paint protection disappeared, conceding the restricted area for six buckets and the perimeter for two triples. Adebayo switched onto Cunningham on five possessions, pressuring three misses on drives and a midrange jumper.

Cunningham’s 3-pointer with fewer than two minutes left, inching Detroit closer by a point, was his team’s last basket. He attempted three more but was contested by Lowry at the wing, rejected by Adebayo at the cylinder, and bothered by Butler at the top of the key on the last hoist of the night that clanked the side of the rim.

The Heat held off the Pistons in its season opener, 103-102, and finished with 19 second-chance points.

Adebayo, who finished with 22 points and eight rebounds, was then interviewed on the court about how the Heat made the stops to come up with a win. He said, “We did blow a lead, but as long as we [won] by half a point, we got stops down the stretch. That’s all that matters.”