The Miami Heat’s Tyler Herro had a ‘Magic’ type night that put him in elite company
In the Miami Heat’s 117-114 overtime win against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, Magic Johnson became an unlikely central figure.
After the Heat won on a game-saving block by Bam Adebayo in the final seconds, the point guard called it, “the best defensive play I’ve ever seen in the playoffs!”
He was also important because of the nearly unprecedented stat line put together by Tyler Herro. The 20-year-old wing scored 12 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out nine assists. He was one assist shy of becoming just the sixth rookie in NBA history to have a triple-double in a playoff game, and those point, rebound and assist thresholds had only ever been matched by one player younger than 21 in an NBA Conference Finals game: Earvin “Magic” Johnson.
“At this point,” coach Erik Spoelstra said Tuesday, “we need a lot of the skill set that he brings.”
Herro came to Miami with 13th pick in the 2019 NBA draft with the expectation he would be a sharpshooter. He shot 35.5 percent from three-point range in his lone season with the Kentucky Wildcats and astonished the Heat with a shooting performance in a pre-draft workout. It quickly became clear, though, he was more than just a sniper and it was never more evident than in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Herro only had two points in the first half and still he was central to Miami’s second-quarter comeback, when the Heat turned a 13-point deficit into a 55-55 tie at haltime. Miami outscored the Celtics by four when Herro was on the court in the first half as he pulled in six rebounds and handed out six assists.
“That’s crazy. He had, what, 11 rebounds and nine assists?” All-Star wing Jimmy Butler said Tuesday. “He was out there hooping. He’s comfortable. He’s confident. We continue to tell him to be that way no matter what game we’re in. We need you to play that way. He’s been preparing for this moment all year long. There’s nothing that we’re not comfortable with him doing, and he shows up day after day and night after night.”
Shooting and scoring is still the centerpiece of all he does, and Tuesday he tied Dwyane Wade’s franchise rookie record by scoring at least 10 points in a 10th consecutive game.
In the third quarter, he grabbed a rebound and went coast to coast for a fancy Euro step layup around Boston guard Brad Wanamaker to cut the Celtics’ lead to 70-69. He also made one of the biggest three-pointers of the game before Butler and Adebayo made highlight-reel play after highlight-reel play.
With 1:08 left in regulation and Miami down 105-100, Herro got out in front in transition and guard Goran Dragic threw a pass ahead to the rookie on the left wing.
Herro dribbled to the top of the key and faked a handoff to Dragic as two Boston defenders tried to figure out who would guard whom. It bought Herro just a sliver of space and he pulled up for a contested three with 19 seconds left on the shot clock to cut the Celtics’ lead to 105-103. Less than a minute later, Butler hit a go-ahead corner three to give the Heat the lead for the first time in the fourth quarter.
“That Herro three with a minute left in regulation,” Boston coach Brad Stevens said Tuesday, “was a killer.”
Even in overtime, he was the one making the plays before the plays.
Miami had a 111-110 lead with 2:15 left when Jayson Tatum missed a three. Herro positioned himself perfectly to catch the long rebound and he peered down the court. Adebayo, who had contested the All-Star forward’s shot, leaked ahead and Herro zipped him a bounce pass from the other side of midcourt for a transition dunk.
The next shot the Heat made was Butler’s game-winning and-one with 12 seconds left. Butler and Adebayo made the plays on the final possessions, but Herro was the one keeping Miami afloat until those last crucial moments.
“Having him in at that point late in games, it shows the trust that we have in him,” forward Jae Crowder said Tuesday. “He’s getting the opportunity of a lifetime right now.”
This story was originally published September 16, 2020 at 9:25 AM.
