Takeaways from Heat’s bounce-back win over Kings, and a historic night for Adebayo and Butler
Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 118-110 bounce-back win over the Sacramento Kings (12-16) on Thursday night at Golden 1 Center. The Heat (12-17) ended its three-game losing skid and is now 2-3 on its seven-game trip:
The Kings entered with the NBA’s worst defense, and the Heat’s offense took the opportunity to put together a quality performance. The All-Star duo of Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler made history in the process.
Miami scored 118 points while shooting 51.6 percent from the field and 12 of 34 on threes. The Heat also tied a season-high with 70 paint points, which came with the help of 26-of-31 shooting at the rim and numerous timely cuts to the basket.
The Heat scored at a pace of 116.8 points per 100 possessions on Thursday, which is its fourth-best single-game offensive rating of the season.
In the win, Adebayo picked up his first triple-double of the season and the fourth of his NBA career with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
And Butler turned in his third straight triple-double performance with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists. He’s the first player in Heat history to produce a triple-double in consecutive games and he’s now the first player in Heat history to produce a triple-double in three consecutive games.
Butler, who has four triple-doubles in his past five games, has nine-triple-doubles as a member of the Heat, including the playoffs. The only player to record more triple-doubles in a Heat uniform is LeBron James, who had 14 (including the playoffs) in his four seasons with the organization.
Thursday marked just the second time in franchise history that two Heat players have recorded a triple-double in the same game. Adebayo and Butler were also the first ones to do it when they both finished with triple-doubles in a win over the Atlanta Hawks on Dec. 10, 2019.
Butler and Adebayo are the first pair of teammates in NBA history to both record triple-doubles in the same game on multiple occasions, according to NBA.com.
“They have to shoulder big time responsibilities for us,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Adebayo and Butler. “That’s not only on the court, but from a leadership standpoint. And they have to make a lot of plays. That’s what they signed up for, that’s what they earn their checks for is to be complete two-way basketball players. Impact the game on both sides of the floor and with leadership. But the way our offense is designed, they play make quite a bit and get other guys involved, get them open shots, get them in rhythm playing with confidence, and you saw that tonight.”
Adebayo said: “We were just out there playing, for real. We’re trying to get a win. I feel like a win matters more than the numbers did. I’m glad we did the triple-double thing again. But I’m really appreciative of the W.”
Heat big man Kelly Olynyk contributed a season-high 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting and seven rebounds. Forward Duncan Robinson added 20 points with the help of 5-of-11 shooting on threes.
The Heat’s offensive performance in Sacramento is not surprising, considering the Kings entered with the worst defensive rating in the league with 117.8 points allowed per 100 possessions. The Kings’ defense is historically bad, as they’re on pace for the worst single-season defensive rating since at least the 2000-01 season.
Heat guard Tyler Herro continues to thrive as a scorer in the midrange and around the basket.
While Herro entered shooting just 33.9 percent on threes, he has been an efficient offensive option inside the three-point line. He entered Thursday shooting 50.8 percent on midrange shots and 62.3 percent at the rim.
That trend continued for Herro, 21, against the Kings. He shot 2 of 4 on threes, but he also shot 9 of 10 in the paint.
Herro ended the night with a team-high 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting in 32 minutes off the bench in his sixth man role.
“He’s going to grow and improve as an offensive player,” Spoelstra said. “He puts in a great deal of time and study and work. He’s not just a shooter. He can make plays off the dribble. He’s still working on his handle, tightening up that against stronger players. Decision making with help-side defenses. Then of course, continuing to take on more responsibility and improve on the defensive end. That’s going to be a day-by-day process.”
Herro has averaged 17.9 points on 45 percent shooting from the field and 37.5 percent shooting on threes, 6.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists in seven games since he was moved to the bench.
The Heat responded well to the Kings’ late-game run after wasting a 19-point lead in Wednesday’s overtime loss to the Golden State Warriors.
Miami has already managed to lose games in which it has led by 19 points (on Wednesday), 18 points and 13 points twice this season.
But when the Kings rallied to cut a 23-point deficit to just 10 entering the fourth quarter, the Heat answered by opening the final period with a 22-12 run to push its lead back up to 20 with 4:50 to play and hold on for the win.
“That can’t happen two nights in a row,” Adebayo said of not losing a double-digit lead for the second straight game. “I mentioned it in the huddle that we can’t have that happen like it happened last night, and dudes responded by pushing the lead to 20 again.”
A Kings player who has been linked to the Heat as a trade option was impressive, but that was one of the only positives for Sacramento on Thursday.
Guard De’Aaron Fox, who entered averaging a team-high 23.2 points per game, finished with 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting and 10 assists.
And Fox’s backcourt mate Buddy Hield, who entered averaging 16.1 points on 3.9 three-point makes per game, finished with five points on 1-of-8 shooting from three-point range.
Instead, forward Nemanja Bjelica led the Kings’ offense with a team-high 25 points on 11-of-21 shooting and eight rebounds in his first start of the season after falling out of the rotation.
The Sacramento Bee reported last week that the Heat is among the teams that have shown interest in Bjelica, who averaged 11.5 points while shooting 41.9 percent on threes, 6.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 72 games (67 starts) last season.
Bjelica, who is in the final season his contract and has a salary of $7.2 million this season, would fit into the Heat’s a $7.6 million trade exception that expires March 22. Trade exceptions allow teams to trade for a player whose salary fits into the exception without having to send back salary.
The Heat again faced a short-handed team during its seven-game trip, and this time it was able to take advantage. Another short-handed team is next.
The Utah Jazz defeated the Heat 112-94 on Saturday without injured starting guard Mike Conley.
Then the Los Angeles Clippers found a way to earn a 125-118 win over the Heat on Monday despite missing four starters, including the All-Star duo of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.
And the Warriors rallied from 15-point fourth-quarter deficit for a 120-112 overtime win over the Heat on Wednesday. The Warriors were missing All-NBA defender Draymond Green and rookie James Wiseman, and were forced to start 6-6 Juan Toscano-Anderson at center.
But the Heat was opportunistic on Thursday, with the Kings missing two starters. Sacramento was without starting forwards Harrison Barnes (left foot strain) and Richaun Holmes (right knee soreness) against Miami.
And 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 expected to miss the NBA Finals rematch because of a right calf strain, and starting guard Dennis Schroder’s availability for Saturday’s contest is now in question after he missed Thursday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets because of the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
Of course, the Heat has also been without a few key players during the trip. The Heat remained without Avery Bradley (right calf strain), Goran Dragic (left ankle sprain), Meyers Leonard (season-ending left shoulder surgery) and Chris Silva (left hip flexor strain) against the Kings.
When asked Thursday whether Dragic has been ruled out for the final two games of the Heat’s trip, which ends Monday against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Spoelstra said there’s no new update.
This story was originally published February 19, 2021 at 12:18 AM.
