Led by Butler, Heat rallies against Raptors but falls in triple overtime. Takeaways from the loss
The Miami Heat was down by as many as 16 points late in the third quarter.
It was two seconds away from sealing the game in regulation.
Instead, on the second night of a back-to-back, Miami played an extra 15 minutes of basketball.
To no avail.
Final score at FTX Arena in triple overtime: Toronto Raptors 124, Heat 120.
Tyler Herro’s potential go-ahead three-pointer at the top of the key with 13.7 seconds left rattled in and out of the basket. Pascal Siakam hit a pair of free throws at the other end to give Toronto a four-point lead with less than 10 seconds left to essentially seal the game.
“I don’t think anybody is leaving this arena — they played all those minutes going down the stretch — without feeling that they left it all out there on both sides,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said after the game, the fourth triple-overtime contest in the Heat’s 34 seasons and the first since 2012. “It was highly competitive and wild swings, back and forth. It was going to require a great deal of mental toughness to be able to fight through a lot of frustrating moments in the first three quarters, but I thought we responded really well.”
Jimmy Butler led the way for Miami (32-18) with 37 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists for his second triple-double in four games while Bam Adebayo had 14 points and 16 rebounds for a double-double of his own.
Gabe Vincent had 17 points, including a three-pointer in each of the three overtime periods. He nearly had the game-winner in double overtime — a halfcourt heave with about one-and-a-half seconds left — but Heat coach Erik Spoelstra called a timeout right before Vincent shot the ball.
Gary Trent Jr. led the Raptors (24-22) with 33 points, while Scottie Barnes (22), Siakam (21) and OG Anunoby (20) each tallied at least 20 points.
Here are five takeaways from the game.
Jimmy Butler almost single-handedly kept Miami in it early.
The Heat can credit Butler for only having a single-digit deficit heading into halftime. Butler scored 24 of Miami’s 53 first-half points, going 8 for 10 from the field and making 7 of 10 free throws. He also hauled in six rebounds and dished out three assists in the first two quarters.
Butler scored or assisted on all 17 Miami’s points in the final 4:15 of the second quarter to cut the Heat’s deficit from 15 points to six entering the break.
In total, Butler was on the floor for 52:28 of 63 minutes Saturday night. He was the first Heat player to play at least 50 minutes since Norris Cole in a double-overtime game in January 2014.
“He was a force of nature tonight,” Spoelstra said.
Three-point shooting comes up clutch in the fourth quarter to force overtime.
Miami shot just 25.9 percent (7 for 27) from beyond the arc over the first three quarters before getting hot from deep late.
The Heat made five of eight three-point attempts in the fourth quarter as it outscores Toronto 25-15 in those 12 minutes.
Max Strus hit back-to-back three to start the frame. Herro hit two and P.J. Tucker got his from the corner with 51.9 seconds left to give Miami a brief two-point lead before Toronto tied it on a pair of Scottie Barnes free throws with 2.9 seconds left.
Herro steps up late but misses the biggest shot.
After being held to just 2 points through the first three quarters, Herro scored 11 total points in the fourth quarter and the three overtime periods.
But his final shot — the one that could have put the Heat ahead for good in the final seconds of triple overtime — rattled out and sealed the Heat’s fate.
“We want him to take those same shots,” Butler said. “Stay aggressive.”
All in all, a successful homestand
The Heat went 3-1 during this four-game stay at FTX Arena, winning its first three games against the Los Angeles Lakers (113-107), New York Knicks (110-96) and Los Angeles Clippers (121-114) before Saturday’s loss.
The Heat is now 18-6 at home.
Now, another long road trip
Next up for the Heat: Six games in 11 days on the road.
It starts with a back-to-back on Monday against the Boston Celtics and Tuesday against the Toronto Raptors and continues Thursday against the San Antonio Spurs, Saturday against the Charlotte Hornets, Feb. 7 against the Washington Wizards and wraps up Feb. 10 against the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Heat is 14-12 on the road this season.
This story was originally published January 29, 2022 at 11:13 PM.
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