Takeaways and reaction from Heat’s defensive-fueled win over Trail Blazers to begin trip
Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s sixth win in its past seven games, a 107-98 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers (31-22) on Sunday night at Moda Center to begin a four-game trip:
The Heat (28-25) won the game because it dominated the turnover battle.
While Portland unsurprisingly controlled the boards and outrebounded Miami 41-30, the Heat negated that advantage by limiting its turnovers and taking advantage of sloppy play from the Trail Blazers.
The Heat scored 28 points off 17 turnovers from the Trail Blazers. Meanwhile, Miami tied a season-low with just eight turnovers that Portland was able to turn into seven points.
“I think the first part of it was respect for our opponent,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “If you don’t have a laser-like focus and a commitment to fly around, those guys can make you look silly. And then the second part of it is we know on the road, we have to be able to defend at a high level. Our defense has to travel. It’s key to our success. It was good to see us start off the road trip with that kind of activity.”
The Heat outscored the Trail Blazers 20-0 in points off turnovers in the first two quarters to enter halftime with a 56-48 lead. Miami did not commit a turnover in the first two quarters on Sunday.
It marked just the second time in franchise history that the Heat has finished a half with zero turnovers. Miami’s only other turnover-free half came during a Nov. 25, 2018 loss to the Toronto Raptors.
The Heat’s domination in this area Sunday was a bit surprising, considering the Trail Blazers entered averaging a league-low 11.3 turnovers per game this season.
But Portland’s leading duo of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum could not find a rhythm against Miami’s aggressive defense. Lillard and McCollum combined to commit nine turnovers.
The Heat sent traps at Lillard for most of the night to force the ball out of his hands. Lillard, who is the NBA’s fourth-leading scorer at 28.7 points per game, finished with just 12 points on 3-of-10 shooting, one rebound and three assists in 37 minutes.
And Jimmy Butler was used to defend McCollum for most of the game, and he did it well. McCollum was limited to 17 points on 7-of-18 shooting, six rebounds and four assists in 36 minutes.
“You got to make it tough on their guards,” Butler said. “They got some really good ones. You got to get in the passing lanes, make their passes difficult, contest every shot. I think we did a good job of getting our hands in the way, getting some deflections, getting some steals and getting out into the open court.”
Miami expanded its lead to as many as 20 points in the second half.
The Heat, which owns the NBA’s sixth-best defensive rating this season, held a potent Trail Blazers offense to 98 points in large part because their 17 turnovers limited them to just 77 shot attempts — down from their season average of 91 shot attempts per game. Portland, which has finished with fewer than 100 points in just five games this season, owns the league’s sixth-best offensive rating.
The Heat’s leading duo of Bam Adebayo and Butler led the Heat’s offense. Adebayo finished with 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting, and Butler recorded 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting to go with four rebounds, five assists, two blocks and four steals.
It’s worth noting that Portland was playing on the second night of a back-to-back set on Sunday and Miami entered after two off days. The Heat looked a step quicker than the Trail Blazers, and that probably played a part in that.
But Miami has also turned into one of the league’s top teams in forcing mistakes because of its aggressive defensive style. The Heat entered forcing its opponents into the second-most turnovers per 100 possessions (15.5) in the NBA this season.
The Heat is 15-4 this season when holding its opponent under 100 points and 20-9 when finishing with fewer turnovers than its opponent.
With newly acquired guard Victor Oladipo missing his first game Sunday because of right knee soreness, Kendrick Nunn returned to the Heat’s starting lineup.
In Nunn’s first game action since March 26, he finished with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting, three rebounds and four assists in 32 minutes. Nunn did not play in the previous six games — the first two because of a sprained right ankle and the next four because Oladipo’s insertion into the starting lineup pushed Nunn out of the rotation.
“It felt great,” Nunn said of playing Sunday. “It felt great to be out there. ... I still put in work, though, so my step was not slow. I just came right back in like I never left.”
Nunn, 25, started in 24 consecutive games before falling out of the Heat’s mix following the acquisition of Oladipo. He was back in the starting lineup Sunday alongside Duncan Robinson, Butler, Trevor Ariza and Adebayo.
It marked the second time this season the Heat has used that five-man combination to start a game this season, with Ariza acquired just last month.
“Kendrick is a tough kid, tough-minded and he really wants to be there for his team,” Spoelstra said. “So he has handled it the right way and really put in a lot of time behind the scenes. And then when he was given this opportunity again, he was ready for it.”
The Heat’s power rotation continues to be a work in progress.
Since the Heat dealt away centers Kelly Olynyk, Chris Silva and injured Meyers Leonard in different trades recently, it has used a back-up center by-committee approach.
Nemanja Bjelica has been used in that role recently as a stretch big man. But rookie Precious Achiuwa stepped into that role in the second half of Thursday’s win against the Los Angeles Lakers’ physical front line, and he was again Spoelstra’s choice to fill those minutes against the Trail Blazers.
Achiuwa finished Sunday’s victory with two points, four rebounds and one block in 13 minutes off the bench.
Veteran center Dewayne Dedmon was available to play Sunday for the first time since he signed with the Heat last week. But Dedmon did not get in the game as he continues to work his way into basketball shape, with his last game action coming on March 11, 2020.
There’s no new update on Oladipo, but second-year Heat forward KZ Okpala is on track to make his return soon.
Spoelstra said Saturday that the Heat was still in the “information gathering stage” regarding Oladipo’s right knee injury. The Heat said before Sunday’s game that there was no update on Oladipo’s status.
Oladipo is out indefinitely with what the Heat has listed as “right knee soreness.” He did not travel with the team and is seeking another opinion on his knee, according to a league source.
Oladipo’s injury history makes the issue complicated, as he suffered a ruptured quad tendon in his right knee in January 2019. Oladipo made his return a year later in January 2020, but he has yet to play in both games of a back-to-back set this season while with the Indiana Pacers and Houston Rockets before his recent trade to the Heat.
As for Okpala, he missed his 10th consecutive game Sunday because of protocols. But Okpala traveled with the Heat to Portland and he’s on track to potentially make his return Tuesday against the Phoenix Suns.
Okpala has not played in a game since the Heat’s loss to the Indiana Pacers on March 19.
Oladipo and Okpala were the only two Heat players who were unavailable for Sunday’s contest.
Heat guard Tyler Herro, who was listed as questionable because of right foot soreness, played Sunday. He contributed 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes off the bench.
The Heat earned a rare road win over a team with a winning record.
Miami picked up just its second such win this season on Sunday night. The Heat improved to 2-9 in road games against teams that currently have a record above .500.
The Heat’s only other road victory against a team with a winning record came against the short-handed Lakers at Staples Center on Feb. 20. The Lakers were without two starters, big man Anthony Davis and guard Dennis Schroder, in that contest.
With the Heat’s next two games on its four-game trip coming against two of the NBA’s top teams, the hope is Sunday’s win is the start of a new trend. Next up for Miami is a challenging back-to-back set that begins Tuesday against the Suns (37-15) and ends Wednesday against the Denver Nuggets (34-19).
The Heat is 6-17 this season against opponents that currently have a record above .500.
This story was originally published April 12, 2021 at 12:19 AM.
