Heat’s Tyler Herro shining in fourth quarter this season: ‘That’s who I am’
Jimmy Butler gave Tyler Herro his own day of the week when he created Tyler Tuesday as a fun way to celebrate his rookie teammate a few seasons ago. Herro has made fourth quarters his own lately, too.
That trend continued in the Heat’s 100-92 comeback win over the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night at Little Caesars Arena. Herro put together one of the best fourth-quarter performances of his NBA career, leading the Heat’s rally with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 shooting on threes while playing the entire fourth period.
Herro’s 14 points against the Pistons tied a regular-season career high for the fourth quarter. The only time he scored more in the final frame was when he recorded 17 fourth-quarter points in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics on Sept. 23, 2020, in the Walt Disney World bubble.
“I’ve always embraced being that guy since high school, really my whole life,” Herro said of coming alive late in games ahead of the Heat’s matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday at Target Center (8 p.m., Bally Sports Sun) on the second night of a back-to-back. “That’s who I am. I like being that guy to take big shots. I like trying to help my team get back in the game. I’m not afraid.”
Herro’s third NBA season has been his best so far. With the help of his big fourth quarter, he finished Tuesday’s win in Detroit with a season-high 31 points on 12-of-21 shooting from the field and 4-of-8 shooting from three-point range, eight rebounds and three assists off the bench.
Herro, 21, is considered the early favorite for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award. He’s averaging a league-high 21.6 points in 13 appearances off the bench and 22.1 points per game when the four starts he has made this season are included.
“I mean, Tyler is a bucket,” Heat reserve center Dewayne Dedmon said. “So any time T gets the ball, I think it’s going in. He had 14 in the fourth, that’s impressive. Every time he shoots the ball, I have faith it’s going in.”
Even on a team featuring accomplished veterans such as Jimmy Butler and Kyle Lowry and rising star Bam Adebayo, Herro has become a go-to option in fourth quarters this season.
Herro is averaging a team-high 6.6 points per game on 51.8 percent shooting from the field and 17-of-34 (50 percent) shooting from three-point range in the fourth quarter this season. Only Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan has totaled more fourth-quarter points (126 points) than Herro (113 points).
The only five players in the NBA with at least 90 fourth-quarter points on 50 percent shooting or better this season are Herro, DeRozan, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey and Phoenix’s Chris Paul.
“There’s a lot of different factors to that,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Herro’s fourth-quarter success. “One, all the confidence that he has that’s borne out of all the hours and the work behind the scenes. But he’s willing to put himself out there, as well. Because you’re going to have some nights where it’s not going for you. But he really becomes energized in those kind of moments when there’s an opportunity for big shots or momentum shifting type shots.”
Herro has also played the second-most fourth-quarter minutes in the NBA this season with 174. Only Charlotte’s Miles Bridges has played more minutes in the final period with 183.
This isn’t necessarily new for Herro, though. He averaged 8.8 fourth-quarter minutes per game as a 19-year-old rookie in the 2019-20 season and also played a team-high 9.7 fourth-quarter minutes per game during an up-and-down sophomore NBA campaign last season.
The difference is Herro’s late-game play is resulting in a lot more success for the Heat this season. Miami was outscored by a total of 105 points during Herro’s fourth-quarter minutes in the previous two seasons, but has managed to outscore teams by 26 points with him on the court in the final period this season.
“I’m a winner,” Herro said. “You put me in at the end of the fourth, I try to compete and I want to win. I can score, but I try to do as much as I can effectively to help win.”
▪ The only three players unavailable for the Heat on Wednesday against the Timberwolves are Markieff Morris (whiplash), Marcus Garrett (right wrist tendinitis) and Victor Oladipo (right knee injury recovery).
This story was originally published November 24, 2021 at 9:48 AM.
