Mateo’s Hoop Diary: The Heat wasted the Trail Blazers in Portland

The Heat crushed the struggling Trail Blazers on tour as Joe Cronin sat courtside. Tyler Herro and Nikola Jović combined for 11 treys on 52.3% shooting. And the team improved to 12-0 when holding opponents to 100 points or under. 

Save for Haywood Highsmith, the Heat’ deep shooting was ineffective, making 10% of tries in the first quarter. Yet, each starter scored within six minutes, and Herro, Jović and Highsmith made multiple field goals. 

Defensively, they intercepted three passes and forced two extra turnovers. Shaedon Sharpe and Deni Avdija gave them issues on the dribble, but by the second quarter, it was like when a fighter has already deciphered their rival’s hooks and uppercuts.

In frame two, Jović scored on a backdoor cut, Duncan Robinson made two 3-pointers, and Bam Adebayo gently laid in a lob. The Heat was on a 10-6 run but called the first timeout of the quarter because Adebayo took a dangerous fall after passing out of lob. Robinson intentionally fouled, and Adebayo was checked by the trainers for a moment before play resumed. 

Then five Heatles supplied an 18-13 run, forcing a Portland timeout as the lead grew to 15.

At halftime, the Heat was up 66-48. They had 22 paint points, seven on the break, six via second chances, 13 off turnovers and 21 from the bench. 

The Trail Blazers had 20 paint points, 12 on the break, eight via second chances, seven off turnovers and eight from the bench. 

Subsequently, the Heat opened the third quarter making one of seven shots because the hosts upped the defensive intensity.  The Blazers also cut the lead to within five points. The visitors followed up with 71.4% accuracy the rest of the period on baskets from four Heatles. 

The fourth quarter started with the Heat up 94-83. The defense permitted Portland five of 23 makes the rest of the way. On top of that, Highsmith stole a pass and poked a ball loose, plus Robinson and Jaquez had a strip.

On offense, the team’s deep shooting faltered late, but it was inconsequential as they feasted in the lane. 

The Heat won 119-98. They had 46 paint points, 11 on the break, 13 via second chances, 20 off turnovers, and 38 from the bench. 

The Trail Blazers had 36 paint points, 18 on the break, 28 via second chances, 11 off turnovers and 19 from the bench.

After the game, coach Erik Spoelstra said Herro is “reaching a level; it’s becoming a consistency… In the moments of truth, he’s stepping up for us when we really need him.”

Jović said, “I gained a little bit of experience in the last few years even though I haven’t played heavy, heavy minutes. Now, especially from the bench, I really feel comfortable.” He also joked Kel’el Ware is his rook.

The Heat will not practice on Sunday. 

Takeaways: 

• Adebayo is a warrior. The fall he took early in the second quarter was dangerous, and he was back playing momentarily. Perhaps it limited his abilities, but he was still sharp on defense. Additionally, he has logged four straight games with a 3-pointer. His longest streak of the season was six. 

• The Heat held the Trail Blazers to 53.3% shooting in the restricted area, 12.7 percentage points below average.

• Simons had 17 points in the third quarter, all on jump shots from mid and long-range. 

• Jović had another strong performance, logging 21 points on 67% shooting, with eight rebounds and five helpings. It was his second game of the year scoring at least 20. He only did it three times last year. 

• The Heat was up seven points with four-and-a-half minutes left but pulled away on a handoff triple and freebies from Hero and a baseline lob to Adebayo.

• This was the Heat’s third straight game holding a team under 100 points.

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