Takeaways from Heat’s ‘memorable night’ in Phoenix behind more elite three-point shooting
Before Saturday’s game, coach Erik Spoelstra described the Miami Heat’s current road trip as “unique.”
There have been multiple positive COVID-19 tests that forced players to quarantine and even a postponement in San Antonio at the start of the trip. There have been COVID-19-replacements signed. There have also been injuries that sidelined key players.
Add a blowout win over the defending Western Conference champions to that list, as the short-handed Heat (25-15) cruised to a 123-100 upset win over the Phoenix Suns (30-9) on Saturday night at Footprint Center.
“Because of all these experiences, we’ve had some really memorable nights and this was one of them,” Spoelstra said following the win.
Playing without stars Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler, the Heat matched its franchise record for threes made in a game on 22-of-44 (50 percent) shooting from deep in the victory. It marked the Suns’ most lopsided home loss of the season.
Miami was in control from the start, hitting 15 threes in the first two quarters to enter halftime with a 21-point lead.
The Suns weren’t able to make a big dent in the Heat’s lead in the third quarter, as they entered the fourth trailing by 19.
But Phoenix made its run in the final quarter, opening the period on an 8-2 run to cut Miami’s lead to 13.
The Heat promptly called timeout and then responded with a 23-13 run to close the game and clinch the win.
Tyler Herro erupted for a team-high and season-high 33 points on 12-of-20 shooting and Duncan Robinson finished with a season-high 27 points on 8-of-16 shooting from three-point range. They combined for 60 points on 56.8 percent shooting off the Heat’s bench.
Heat guard Kyle Lowry added 14 points and 13 assists.
The Suns’ backcourt of Chris Paul and Devin Booker combined for 35 points on 24 shots and nine turnovers.
After an impressive 3-2 start to its trip, all things considered, the Heat now returns to Miami for a three-day break before closing the six-game trip on Wednesday against the Atlanta Hawks.
The Heat also improved to 12-7 since Adebayo went out and 10-4 in games without Adebayo and Butler this season.
Here are five takeaways from the Heat’s win over the Suns:
The Heat’s three-point shooting continues to be ridiculously good.
Not only did the Heat match its franchise record for three-pointers made in a game with 22-of-44 shooting from deep in Saturday’s win, but it also established a new franchise record for threes made in any half with 15-of-30 shooting from beyond the arc in the first two quarters.
The previous team record for threes made in a half was 14.
The Heat outscored the Suns 66-42 from three-point range.
Elite three-point shooting has been a trademark of the short-handed Heat over the past month. How good has Miami’s shooting been?
The Heat has made 19 or more threes in 20 regular-season games in franchise history and six of them have come since the start of December. Miami has also matched its single-game franchise record of 22 made threes three times during this stretch, including on Saturday.
“These are happening through execution, paint attacks, guys being unselfish and making the right play when somebody is open,” Spoelstra said of the Heat’s three-point shooting. “You also have to have guys that can knock down a bunch of threes and get ignitable, which we have a bunch of those guys.”
Robinson led the way against the Suns with eight made threes. Max Strus drilled four three-pointers, and Herro and Tucker each converted on three threes.
The Heat has shot 40.5 percent from three-point range in 19 games since Dec. 1, which is the second-best three-point percentage in the NBA during that span.
The Heat’s outside shooting has been so good that it set a franchise record with 229 made threes in December.
Saturday marked the second straight game that Robinson has been available for the Heat after returning from COVID-19 protocols. But Strus again started in Robinson’s place.
Strus, who has made his first five NBA starts in his last five appearances, finished with 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting from deep.
Spoelstra’s decision to stick with Strus as a starter shouldn’t be surprising, considering he’s in the middle of the best stretch of his NBA career. He entered Saturday averaging 23 points on 52.2 percent shooting from the field and 46.3 percent shooting on 11.2 three-point attempts, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists in his last six games.
Starting Strus pushes Robinson into a reserve role.
Robinson has been a fixture in the Heat’s starting lineup. He started 68 of his 73 regular-season appearances in 2019-20, all 72 of his appearances last season and his first 35 appearances this season.
But Robinson looked comfortable playing off the bench Saturday, turning in arguably his best performance of the season.
Spoelstra made it sound like Robinson will soon return to a starting role, though.
“Duncan has been in protocols,” Spoelstra said. “He literally flew all day before the Portland game to be able to play in that game. I brought him off the bench just so we can control his minutes. We’re just trying to figure this out game by game. He’s a starter, but because of last game we just went with the same lineup. That’s not easy for anybody emotionally or mentally.”
Robinson added that “whatever this team needs me to do, I’m happy to do.”
Butler missed a second straight game, but his return seems near. Others continued to step up in his absence.
Butler was questionable leading up to Saturday’s game, but was ultimately ruled out just 90 minutes before tipoff because of a sprained right ankle.
With the Heat now idle until Wednesday’s matchup against the Hawks, Butler has an extra three days to recover in hopes of returning in Atlanta.
Along with Butler, the Heat without Adebayo (thumb surgery), Mario Chalmers (ineligible to play), Dewayne Dedmon (knee sprain), Marcus Garrett (protocols), Udonis Haslem (not with team), Aric Holman (ineligible to play), Markieff Morris (whiplash), KZ Okpala (wrist sprain), Victor Oladipo (knee injury recovery), Nik Stauskas (ineligible to play) and Gabe Vincent (not with team) against the Suns.
That left the Heat with just 10 available players on Saturday: Kyle Guy, Herro, Haywood Highsmith, Lowry, Caleb Martin, Robinson, Chris Silva, Strus, Tucker and Omer Yurtseven.
Yurtseven finished with seven points, 16 rebounds and a career-high eight assists. He’s the first player in franchise history to finish with at least 12 rebounds in 11 straight games.
Yurtseven also became the first rookie to grab at least 16 rebounds in four straight games since Larry Smith pulled it off in 1981.
It’s worth noting that the 10-day contracts of the six COVID-19 replacements on Miami’s roster expire this weekend. The deals of Guy, Holman and Highsmith ended after Saturday’s game and those of Chalmers, Silva and Stauskas expire on Sunday.
“We’re so appreciative for them being ready on call and then finding a way to fit in and learn everything on the fly and then ultimately make an impact in their minutes,” Spoelstra said of the Heat’s COVID-19 replacements. “They’ve been phenomenal. We would not have been able to continue this road trip without their additions.”
Suns coach Monty Williams praised Spoelstra and the Heat’s player development program prior to Saturday’s game.
“It’s who they are,” Williams said of the Heat’s ability to develop relative NBA unknowns into quality rotation players. “It’s one of the programs that’s influenced how we do our stuff here. I talk a lot about Golden State and San Antonio, but Spo is one of the coaches that I look up to probably as much as anybody just because of the stamina that he’s had, their ability to find players and turn them into rotation guys, All-Stars, whatever the case may be. He’s been doing it for a long time. They certainly have perfected it, finding guys.”
Williams called Strus “one of the best shooters in the league.”
Of Yurtseven, Williams said: “I’ve been watching him for a few weeks and I’m trying to figure out how they find that guy. I watch a lot of Spo’s games. When I watch him play, I’m like: ‘Man, that dude is skilled and he’s tough.’ He’s certainly a Miami DNA guy.”
The respect is mutual between Spoelstra and Williams.
“I’ve admired Monty, like a lot of people in this business for a long time,” Spoelstra said. “Everything he’s about, what he stands for, how he runs his program. I have so much respect for him and him as a human being. He’s genuine, he’s authentic. I wasn’t good as a player. But the way he runs his program, I would love to play for a guy like him.”
Spoelstra and Williams will coach together as Team USA assistants on Steve Kerr’s staff.
Another night, another road game for the Heat. But a long stretch at home is near.
The Heat played its 24th road game of the season on Saturday. That’s tied with the Charlotte Hornets and Orlando Magic for the most in the NBA, so far.
The Heat has been solid on the road this season with a 13-11 record. In comparison, the Hornets are 10-14 and Magic is 5-19 on the road.
Among the seven teams that have played the most games away from home this season, the Heat owns the best overall record.
But an extended stretch in Miami is right around the corner. The Heat returned home following Saturday night’s win in Phoenix for a three-day break prior to completing the six-game trip on Wednesday against the Hawks.
After Wednesday’s contest in Atlanta, the Heat will begin a nine-game stretch that includes eight games at FTX Arena. Miami is 12-4 at home this season.
This story was originally published January 8, 2022 at 11:25 PM.
