Heat holds on after Kyle Lowry ejection to beat Trail Blazers. Takeaways from the win
The Miami Heat was already playing without so many of its top players.
No Bam Adebayo. No Jimmy Butler. No Dewayne Dedmon. No Markieff Morris.
And, for the second half Wednesday, the Heat had to play without its starting point guard after Kyle Lowry was ejected with 1:14 remaining in the second quarter.
But behind a balanced effort from the rest of the roster in the second half, the Heat held on to beat the Portland Trail Blazers 115-109 at Moda Center to snap a two-game losing streak.
The Heat (24-15) had six players score in double figures on Wednesday.
Max Strus led the group with 25 points on 9 for 17 shooting (including 7 for 13 from three-point range) in his return after missing four games due to health and safety protocols. Tyler Herro added 16, Omer Yurtseven 14, P.J. Tucker 14, Duncan Robinson 12 and Caleb Martin 11. Yurtseven and Tucker had double-doubles with 16 and 10 rebounds, respectively.
Miami led by as many as 19 points in the second quarter, a lead that shrank to 11 points at halftime (58-47) and three points at the end of the third quarter (83-80) before Portland (14-23) tied it at 90-90 with 9:41 left in the fourth quarter on a Dennis Smith Jr. driving layup.
The Heat outscored the Trail Blazers 25-19 after that to seal the win.
Lowry had 7 points, nine assists and two rebounds in 16:08 before his ejection.
Herro and Portland’s Jusuf Nurkic also were ejected with 59 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Here are five takeaways from the game.
P.J. Tucker becomes the Heat’s de facto carries the load late. Tucker’s double-double, his third of the season, was great on its own. And needed.
But what was needed even more was his down the stretch on Wednesday was his veteran presence as the Heat withstood Portland’s late rally attempt.
Tucker, in his 11th NBA season, spent most of the second half on the floor with a mostly inexperienced group.
His leadership, his understanding of what needs to be done in clutch minutes, can’t necessarily be quantified in the statsheet.
But it was noticed.
“We really needed somewhere the ball could go,” coach Erik Spoelstra said, “and PJ was that guy for us in that fourth quarter. We were able to get him in the post a few times, run some actions. Sometimes just the option to throw to him and cut. ... He’s a runner. He is so versatile. He can do everything for us defensively but offensively, we’re learning more and more about him and we can put more on his plate when needed.
“We needed every bit of it tonight.”
Tucker’s thoughts on his role in the second half Wednesday once Lowry was ejected?
“I knew how much harder the game was going to be,” Tucker said. “I was going to have to trigger a lot more plays and do a lot more, lead a little bit more. I told the guys after the last game in the locker room at Golden State, ‘I don’t care who it is. ... We’ve got to win games. No matter who’s playing, who’s not playing, guys have to step up every single night and win games. That was the case tonight.”
Slow shooting start for Tyler Herro, but he takes on a different role in the second half. Herro, back in his usual bench role Wednesday, had just 3 points on 1 for 10 shooting in the first half.
He made some clutch shots in the second half, but equally as important was his ability to become the team’s main ball handler following Lowry’s ejection. Herro took on the bulk of the point guard duties in the second half and helped keep Miami in the game.
Despite early foul trouble, Omer Yurtseven shows his latest signs of growth. Yurtseven and Chris Silva each picked up three personal fouls midway through the first half, forcing coach Erik Spoelstra to play Haywood Highsmith for the final 4:08 of the second quarter. Miami was outscored 15-8 in that stretch to cut an 18-point lead to 11 points at the half.
Yurtseven did not commit a foul in the second half and finished with 14 points and 16 rebounds.
With that, he set a Heat record with his 10th consecutive game with at least 12 rebounds. It broke Hassan Whiteside’s mark of nine consecutive games with at least a dozen rebounds.
Yurtseven is only the third rookie to accomplish this feat and the first since Blake Griffin.
Even more crazy?
Yurtseven is just the third Heat player ever with 10 consecutive games with 10 rebounds and three consecutive games with at least 16 rebounds (also Whiteside and Rony Seikaly).
He is also the fifth player this season with three consecutive 16-rebound games this season, joining Rudy Gobert, Nikola Jokic, Clint Capela and Nikola Vucevic.
Miami Heat almost completely free from health and safety protocols. With Robinson and Strus back on the active roster and Tucker rejoining the team Monday, Miami only has three players out due to COVID-19: Udonis Haslem, Gabe Vincent and Marcus Garrett.
Now, the team is still dealing with injuries. They’re still without Adebayo (right thumb surgery), Butler (right ankle sprain), Dedmon (left knee sprain) and Morris (whiplash).
But rotation members are returning, and any increase in depth helps.
Aric Holman, Nik Stauskas and Mario Chalmers — three of the players the Heat signed to 10-day contracts under the NBA hardship allowance — were inactive on Wednesday with the Heat getting Robinson, Tucker and Strus back from health and safety protocols.
The road trip continues. The Heat has two games left on this six-game road trip. Miami plays the Phoenix Suns next on Saturday before closing the trip on Wednesday against the Atlanta Hawks.
This story was originally published January 6, 2022 at 12:41 AM.
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