Five takeaways: Heat gets defensive in win over Memphis and Erik Spoelstra loved every second of it.

Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 100-97 win over the Memphis Grizzlies (16-12) on Friday at FedEx Forum:

1. It was ugly basketball. Or it was spectacularly beautiful, depending on one’s tastes.

For Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, there is no question which style he prefers most after Miami outlasted Memphis on Friday in a physical, grinding showdown.

“This was much more to our identity, win lose or draw,” Spoelstra said after the Heat’s win. “Whenever there’s blood, it’s usually good for us.”

Spoelstra predicted a “traditionalist’s” game beforehand -- one involving hard-nosed defense -- and afterward said “it was as billed.”

“So there’s probably a lot of people out there that looked at this game and said, ‘Oh boy, that’s ugly,’” Spoelstra said. “And then there’s the traditionalist that saw it and saw some beauty and teams really competing defensively.”

The Heat out-rebounded Memphis, 50-34, and held the Grizzlies to 42 percent shooting.

“To both teams, we probably both thought that was beautiful basketball,” Spoelstra said.

2) The Heat received contributions up and down the scoresheet, with five Heat players scoring in double digits and none tallying more than 18.

But Tyler Johnson, Derrick Jones Jr. and Kelly Olynyk were most impressive. Johnson and Olynyk led the Heat with 18 points each while Jones contributed 13 points to go with eight rebounds.

With the Heat trailing 76-74 early in the fourth quarter, Jones ignited an 11-2 run with a 3-pointer that gave Miami a lead it would never relinquish.

“I always harp on my defense and want to be the lockdown defender our team needs,” Jones said. “(But) if I get open shots, I’m going to take them. If I get open dunks, I’m not going to pass up on those.”

Said Spoelstra of Jones: “He keeps working at it, getting better, and making the most of his minutes -- and he’s earning more. That’s what you want from young guys.”

3) Friday marked the return of Hassan Whiteside after a four-game absence in order to witness the birth of his first child.

While his final numbers didn’t exactly sparkle, Spoelstra was pleased with the effort he saw from Whiteside, who walked off the court prematurely in his last game with the Heat before they went on the road.

“It’s great to have him back,” Spoelstra said of Whiteside, who finished with six points and seven rebounds despite not playing the entire fourth quarter. “The locker room was excited to have him back. Even in the minutes he gave us tonight, (they were) really impactful.”

4) Not everyone had a night to be proud of for the Heat.

Justise Winslow returned to earth by scoring just four points on 1 for 8 (1 for 5 on 3-pointers).

Winslow scored 20 or more points in each of the Heat’s first three games on the road trip but has totaled just 13 over the past two.

5) Most felt a 3-3 trip would be a successful one for the Heat.

Now, with Friday’s win, that’s a worst-case scenario. A win over New Orleans on Sunday to close out their longest trip of the season would make them 4-2.

It’s something that wouldn’t have seemed fathomable after a debacle of a loss in Utah on Wednesday.

The Heat practiced Thursday in Memphis to, in Spoelstra’s words, “expel the demons of that Utah game.”

It was all smiles after Friday, though.

“It’s just big for us to bounce back coming back off that loss in Utah, and a tough one in L.A., to get this one,” Olynyk said. “Now we’re going to New Orleans to get another win. We’ve had a solid trip up to now. (There) wouldn’t be a better way to end it than to get one more.”

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This story was originally published December 14, 2018 at 11:52 PM.