Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Pelicans eradicated Heat

The Heat, supposed masters of the zone, were inept against it and later wiped out in the fourth by the team that played one night earlier and lost its second-best player, Brandon Ingram. On top of that, the hosts were maimed on the glass by 22.

When commenting on the group’s frustration offensively, Heat analyst John Crotty said it was hard to believe. It ain’t. Its best marksmen were in the clinic, but that doesn’t change the reality of it being immune to consistency as it dropped its 17th match at Kaseya Center.

Gag.

Tyler Herro (foot), Kevin Love (heel) and Duncan Robinson (back) were out for the Heat. The Pelicans were absent Brandon Ingram (knee) and Dyson Daniels (knee).

The Heat’s first three tries were deep shots- all misses- foreshadowing its evening settling on the perimeter. But early, Nikola Jović splashed two trays and broke into the lane for a layup. He looked around for some help on offense, yet aside from Bam Adebayo’s two paint jumpers, the rest of the Heatles deserted him. Although, on defense, it forced six turnovers and held Zion Williamson to three failures in the lane.

On the other side, the Pelicans’ zone and transition protection forced eight straight Heat misfires in nearly four minutes. On the attack, Trey Murphy III sprayed a pull-up triple over Jaime Jaquez Jr. on the wing and two more consecutive threes at the end of the frame. Jose Alvarado and Larry Nance Jr. each put up five points, too.

Through one quarter, the Heat was below 20-21, shooting 33.3% to the Pelicans’ 40%.

Next, the Pelicans opened the second interval with five members making eight of 11 baskets in seven minutes. In that span, the Heat made 33% of its ventures facing the zone and man coverage. If not for Cole Swider downing two trays and Butler cracking the scheme once plus scoring on the break, the stretch would have been a complete abasement.

As intermission approached, McCollum dribbled downcourt on the right side past Terry Rozier for a layup in transition and zoomed by Swider from the wing to the paint, dropping a floater over Adebayo’s outstretched limbs.

At halftime, the Heat was down 42-46. The squad had 16 paint points, five on the break, two via second chances, 16 after turnovers and eight from the reserves.

Jović picked up 10 points on four of six shots, with one assist and a steal. Butler logged nine points on 40% accuracy, with two two rebounds, an assist and a steal. And Adebayo had six on his scorecard plus nine rebounds and two blocks.

The Pelicans had 12 interior points, nine in the open court, three on extra tries, two after turnovers and 16 from the bench.

CJ McCollum was the high Pelican, registering a dozen points on five of 10 looks, with three rebounds and four assists. Murphy added nine to his ledger on six attempts and recovered five rebounds. Alvarado supplied nine points off the bench, with four boards and two assists. And Williamson had barely contributed.

Instead of starting the third with Valančiūnas, Pelicans coach Willie Green shelved him until later in favor of Larry Nance Jr..

Butler uncorked the offense to start the third, driving on the baseline through Williamson for a layup. But the Heat didn’t score again until it was in a 12-point hole. Thomas Bryant provided eight points, and Butler cut through the center, catching and finishing at the cup twice, but the unit couldn’t get stops.

McCollum continued his barrage, getting into the paint for a pull-up jumper and connecting on two triples. And Marshall made three buckets late. He made a corner triple when left alone, beat Rozier from the top to the hoop for a left-handed scoop and hit a floater on the break.

The Heat started the fourth quarter behind 66-76, but before it could answer, Valančiūnas made an elbow jumper against the Heat’s zone, and McCollum raced into the paint, sinking a floater. The Pelicans converted six of 10 3-pointers in the sequence, shooting over openings plus drop coverage and pulling up off the dribble.

The only Heatles to log multiple field goals late were Adebayo and Swider, combining for five of six makes. The rest of the group made 21% of its tries to close as the hosts got outscored by 13 points in the fourth.

The Heat lost 88-111. It had 30 paint points, eight on the break, seven via second chances, 16 after turnovers and 32 from the bench.

Butler had a quiet 17 points on five of 12 looks, with four rebounds and five assists. Rozier poured in 13 points on 35.7% shooting and racked up four boards and two assists. Adebayo recorded 12 marks on seven attempts with 10 boards and two blocks. Martin had three rebounds, contributed a donut to the scoreboard, missing eight tries

The Pelicans stockpiled 38 interior points, 13 in the open court, 18 on extra tries, six after turnovers and 45 from the reserves.

McCollum produced 30 points on 57.1% shooting, with five rebounds and seven dimes. Alvarado had 17 points on six of 12 attempts, with seven rebounds and six assists. Murphy had 14 on his ledger and recovered eight boards. And Marshall added 13 points and seven rebounds.

At the postgame presser, coach Erik Spoelstra said, “Our level of energy, detail, and willingness to go to different layers of our offense was not great.”

Butler said, “Nobody is scared to come in here and play us. Nobody is scared to play us on the road either.”

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