Takeaways from another painful Heat loss, and what went wrong on defense vs. Clippers
Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 125-118 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers (21-8) on Monday night at Staples Center. The Heat (11-16) is now 1-2 on its seven-game trip:
The short-handed Clippers were without four starters, including the All-Star duo of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. But the Heat still lost because of one of its worst defensive performances of the season.
George (bone edema right toe), Leonard (left lower leg contusion), guard Patrick Beverley (rest) and starting forward Nicolas Batum (concussion) were unavailable for the Clippers. Leonard (26.7 points per game) and George (24.4 points per game) are Los Angeles’ top two scorers.
But others stepped up in their absence, with forward Marcus Morris Sr. totaling 26 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field and 6-of-7 shooting on threes in the first half. Clippers two-way contract guard Amir Coffey contributed 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting on threes in the first two quarters.
With Morris, who entered averaging 12.5 points per game this season, and Coffey, who had not made more than two threes in an NBA game during his career, combining to shoot 10 of 11 from deep in the first half, the Clippers entered halftime with a 67-62 advantage.
Los Angeles shot 53.3 percent from the field and 10 of 18 on threes in the first half.
The Clippers’ outside shooting cooled down with only five made threes in the second half, but they still shot 57.5 percent from the field with the help of 10-of-11 shooting at the rim and 5-of-7 shooting from midrange in the final two quarters to hang on for the win.
“We weren’t protecting the paint, we weren’t rotating, we weren’t running them off the line to make them miss,” wing Jimmy Butler said of the Heat’s defensive issues Monday night. “They were just comfortable all game. That’s basically the game.”
Morris finished with a game-high 32 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the field and 6-of-8 shooting on threes. And center Ivica Zubac scored 14 of his 22 points in the second half, with six Clippers players finishing with double-digit points.
Clippers guard Lou Williams finished with 18 points and 10 assists.
The Heat’s defense, which entered the night as a top-10 unit and had been trending in the right direction recently, allowed 130.2 points per 100 possessions on Monday. It’s Miami’s second-worst single-game defensive rating of the season, only behind the night the Milwaukee Bucks to set a new NBA single-game record with 29 made threes against the Heat on Dec. 29.
The Heat entered Monday’s fourth quarter trailing by one point, but the Clippers won the final period 33-27.
“They got whatever they wanted on the offensive end, were in the right spots on defense rebounding the basketball,” Butler said. “It was a tough one. I’m not going to say we let one get away. We didn’t deserve to win.”
The Clippers were also without George and Leonard in their first matchup of the season against the Heat in Miami last month, as the duo was unavailable because of the NBA’s health and safety protocols. Los Angeles also won that game.
The Heat was missing Avery Bradley (right calf strain), Goran Dragic (left ankle sprain), Meyers Leonard (season-ending left shoulder surgery) and Chris Silva (left hip flexor strain) on Monday.
“We gotta take pride in defense,” Adebayo said. “I feel like defense wins games for the most part. I feel like if we would have played Miami Heat culture defense, we would have won.”
The Heat’s suddenly shaky offense was very efficient on Monday, and it was because of its effectiveness in the paint.
While the Heat’s defense struggled to contain the Clippers, Miami scored 118 points on 50.5 percent shooting from the field and 18-of-22 shooting from the foul line. The Heat also committed just eight turnovers.
The Heat’s attacking style was on display, as it scored a season-high 70 paint points. Miami shot 35 of 45 from inside the paint and 25 of 29 at the rim.
Butler was the catalyst, finishing with a triple-double that included 30 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in 38 minutes. It marked his second triple-double in three games and his seventh as a member of the Heat, including the playoffs.
Adebayo was also a force with 27 points on 12-of-15 shooting, 12 rebounds and seven assists.
The Heat was efficient around the basket, but it shot just 8 of 36 from three-point range.
Sixth man Tyler Herro made four of them, as he finished with 27 points on 11-of-20 shooting from the field and 4-of-10 shooting on threes in 41 minutes off the bench.
“We didn’t knock down a high percentage of our threes, but a good number of them were open and that’s what you can control is playing to your strengths, being assertive, taking care of the ball and getting shots you want,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “For the most part against a good defense, I thought we were able to do that.”
The Heat, which is ranked No. 26 in offensive rating, posted its second-best single-game offensive rating of the season in Monday’s loss. But the defensive issues were too much to overcome against the Clippers.
“It has been a challenge,” Herro said of putting together a complete game on both ends of the court. “I think you guys see it. From game to game, it’s the offense or it’s the defense. But we’re just still working to be able to really put a full 48 minutes on both ends and really put it together. We gotta figure it out.”
Much of the discussion surrounding the Heat after Saturday’s loss to the Utah Jazz was about finding ways to get Duncan Robinson more open three-point looks. How did Robinson respond against the Clippers?
Robinson finished Monday’s loss with 13 points on 3-of-11 shooting on threes. That three-point efficiency isn’t up to Robinson’s high standards, but getting up 11 attempts is encouraging.
Robinson recorded eight points on 2-of-4 shooting on threes as the Jazz kept a defender on him at all times, face-guarded him for most of the game, and never sagged off of him to help in the paint. Utah also took a physical approach and often sent a second defender to slow Miami’s off-ball actions involving Robinson.
That prompted Adebayo to say after Saturday’s loss in Salt Lake City: “They’re trying to take Duncan [Robinson] out of the game. The stuff we were doing with Duncan last year, we can’t do this year. So, we just got to adjust and watch film, get together and figure that out.”
Robinson entered Monday’s game averaging 12.5 points while making 3.3 threes on 8.2 three-point attempts per game for a percentage of 39.9. He shot 44.6 percent on threes on 8.3 three-point attempts per game last season.
After sticking with a nine-man rotation for most games recently, the Heat extended it to a 10-man rotation against the Clippers.
Forward Moe Harkless, who recently returned after missing nine straight games because of a left thigh contusion, was the latest addition to the Heat’s rotation. Harkless finished scoreless, but grabbed one rebound and dished out two assists in 13 minutes off the bench in his first game action since injuring his thigh during a Jan. 23 loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
Monday marked just the 10th game that Harkless has played in this season.
In addition, Heat rookie center Precious Achiuwa received more playing time Monday than he has in the past week. Achiuwa finished with eight points on 3-of-6 shooting and one rebound in 12 minutes.
Achiuwa, 21, played a total of just 10 minutes in the previous two games.
It’s also worth noting that Leonard watched Monday’s game from the team’s bench. Leonard is in Los Angeles rehabbing from shoulder surgery.
The Heat wasn’t able to take advantage of a thin Clippers roster on Monday. Miami will likely face another shorthanded team in Los Angeles on Saturday.
The expectation is the Los Angeles Lakers will be without one of their stars for Saturday’s prime time matchup against the Heat.
Lakers superstar big man Anthony Davis is unlikely to return prior to the NBA’s March 5-10 All-Star break after straining his calf and re-aggravating his right Achilles tendonosis during Sunday’s loss to the Denver Nuggets, ESPN reported Monday. Of course, the Lakers are still expected to have superstar forward LeBron James available against the Heat.
The Heat faces the Lakers in an NBA Finals rematch on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. at Staples Center in the sixth game of Miami’s seven-game trip.
Remaining on the Heat’s trip: a Wednesday matchup against the Golden State Warriors, a Thursday game against the Sacramento Kings, Saturday’s contest against the Lakers, and next Monday’s meeting with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
This story was originally published February 16, 2021 at 12:34 AM.
