Mateo’s Hoop Diary: The Heat was outmatched by the Thunder, 104-97

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander plus Jalen Williams took over on offense, and Isaiah Hartenstein was the most dominant big man on the floor, leading the Thunder to a dub at Kaseya Center.

In the first quarter, the Heat’s long-range bombs were missing, save for two, but Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo carried the offense with fastbreak scores and half-court paint attacks. The Thunder raised the intensity by 60° on defense, forcing three host turnovers that stalled the offense midway through the period. Butler twisted his left ankle, got checked out, but didn’t return because he was also bothered by an illness. The Sun Sentinel’s Ira Winderman reported that he asked trainer Armando Rivas for something before rolling his ankle.

For the Thunder, SGA made two jumpers on the dribble at long and mid-range, plus made a second-chance layup on his miss. His co-star, Williams, added a 3-pointer and ripped through the middle for a layup. The rest of the Thunder were still rolling, making six of 11 baskets.

Through 12 minutes, the Heat was down 25-30

Next, Nikola Jović was summoned, contributing seven points. Herro broke into the heart of OKC’s defense for two layups. And Terry Rozier blew past Williams for a scoop and nailed a 3-pointer.

Defensively, the crew made a stand, holding the visitors to 38% shooting in the second quarter. They also stayed in the 2-3 zone longer than usual, likely because of Butler’s absence.

At halftime, the Heat was down 47-50. They had 26 paint points, eight on the break, four on second chances, eight off turnovers and 21 from the bench. 

The Thunder had 20 paint points, six on the break, five via second chances, 12 off turnovers and 13 from the bench. 

Then Jaime Jaquez started the second half in Butler’s place. He accidentally elbowed Adebayo above the left eye while hunting for a defensive rebound. Adebayo left momentarily to get seven stitches and returned with four minutes left. He finished the period with a putback dunk. 

The Heat briefly took the lead on actions from Herro, Dru Smith and Haywood Highsmith. But the Thunder recovered it quickly as Williams dribbled to the elbow for a jumper, scored on the break and SGA made a quick 3-pointer after pickpocketing Dru Smith.  Coach Erik Spoelstra called a stoppage, but the zone and man coverage were no match for SGA, pulling up on the dribble from long and mid-range. He tore up the Heat for 13 points on five of 12 baskets in the period. 

The fourth quarter started with the Heat down 70-81. Williams burned the Heat with two more shots from mid-range, two up close and one from deep. And Hartenstein added six points and six rebounds. 

The Heat’s response- nine of 20 baskets from Adebayo, Herro, Smith and Duncan Robinson wasn’t enough to lift the squad out of the deficit. 

The Heat lost 97-104. They had 46 paint points, 10 on the break, 12 via second chances, 15 off turnovers and 36 from the bench. 

Herro had 28 points on 11 of 24 shots, with 12 rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Adebayo had 17 points on seven of 11 attempts, with 10 rebounds, one assist, one steal, one block and six turnovers.

And Dru Smith had 13 points on 83.3% shooting, with four assists, two steals, one block and three turnovers. 

The Thunder totaled 40 paint points, 13 on the break, 11 via second chances, 27 off turnovers and 17 from the bench. 

After the game, Spoelstra said SGA is a great player and that “you’re not going to hold a guy like that to 25 points, but you have to scramble around, hopefully keep their team average down. We did that for the most part but weren’t able to put points on the board.”

Observations:

1. Adebayo’s turnovers were caused by bad passes, getting stripped by SGA and traveling. The Heat had 18 in total. This was the third game with at least that many but the first loss.

2. Herro had double-digit rebounds for the second time this season. His other 10-rebound game was in the Heat’s win versus the Dallas Mavericks on Nov. 24.

3. The Thunder were 21-1 when taking a lead into the fourth quarter and are now 22-1. They were on the second night of a back-to-back, having beat the Orlando Magic on Thursday.

4. The Heat’s attack saw a ferocious set defense for 82.9% of the time.

5. Adebayo’s double-double moves him past Alonzo Mourning for second-most in Heat history with 206. Rony Seikaly is still first with 221.

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