Takeaways and details from another short-handed Heat win on Kyle Lowry Day in Toronto
The Miami Heat has won more than a few games while playing short-handed this season, and it was presented with an opportunity to add to that list.
The Heat (51-28) took advantage, overcoming the absence of its head coach and four rotation players to come away with a quality 114-109 win over the Toronto Raptors (45-33) on Sunday night at Scotiabank Arena to extend its winning streak to four and complete a perfect 3-0 three-game trip.
The victory also pushed the Heat closer to clinching the top playoff seed in the Eastern Conference. Miami now holds a two-game lead over the second-place Boston Celtics with just three games left on its regular season schedule.
The Heat was without head coach Erik Spoelstra because he entered the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols on Sunday. Assistant coach Chris Quinn served as the head coach in Spoelstra’s place.
The Heat was also without four rotation players, including two starters. Jimmy Butler (left big toe irritation), Dewayne Dedmon (right ankle sprain), P.J. Tucker (left knee irritation) and Gabe Vincent (right big toe contusion) were all held out on the second night of the Heat’s final back-to-back of the season.
But it didn’t matter because the Heat overcame all of it behind its depth and another ultra-efficient night from three-point range.
“It was great and it was kind of typical of our season,” Quinn said, as the Heat improved to 15-9 without Butler this season.
The Heat trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half and entered halftime in a 10-point hole, but came back with the help of a 34-point third quarter. Behind 14 third-quarter points from Max Strus, Miami outscored Toronto 34-23 in the period to enter the fourth ahead by one.
The Heat never let go of that momentum to win the final quarter 35-31 with the help of 13-of-17 (76.5 percent) shooting from the field and 6-of-8 (75 percent) shooting from three-point range in the period.
The Heat outscored the Raptors 69-54 in the second half. Miami shot 61.5 percent from the field and 12 of 18 (66.7 percent) from three-point range in the final two quarters.
With so many missing, so many others stepped up. Six Heat players finished with double-digit points led by 23 from Strus, who scored all of his points in the second half.
Victor Oladipo, who had not played in three straight games, finished with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and 6-of-9 shooting on threes.
Tyler Herro contributed 18 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
Kyle Lowry recorded 16 points, six rebounds and 10 assists in his first game back in Toronto since leaving the Raptors to join the Heat last summer. The Raptors honored Lowry with a pre-game tribute video.
Bam Adebayo scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
“It’s been like that all year,” Strus said of the Heat’s short-handed win. “It seems like every time this happens, somebody else steps up. Tonight it was Vic, which was awesome to see. We were super happy and proud to see him go out there and play like that for us and help us get this win for our team, and for Kyle on a special night for him.”
The Heat now returns home to open the final week of the regular season on Tuesday against the Charlotte Hornets at FTX Arena.
Here are five takeaways from the Heat’s win over the Raptors:
Lowry accomplished both of his goals in his return to Toronto. He got a win and he didn’t cry when the Raptors played his tribute video in the arena.
Lowry, who spent the previous nine seasons in Toronto and is considered one of the greatest players in Raptors history, played against his former team and in Toronto for the first time on Sunday since joining the Heat last summer. He missed the first three games of the four-game series against the Raptors because of personal reasons.
The Raptors celebrated Lowry’s time with the franchise throughout the night, but the big moment came just minutes before tip-off when the Raptors played Lowry’s tribute video following Heat player introductions. The Toronto crowd gave Lowry a lengthy standing ovation, as he stood at midcourt with his sons.
Lowry said before the game he wouldn’t cry, and he held true to his word.
“He kept joking that he didn’t want to cry,” Quinn said. “I can only imagine the emotions that he was going through.”
Lowry’s wife, Ayahna, and his sons, Karter and Kameron, arrived in Toronto on Friday to connect with friends while the Heat played Saturday in Chicago.
“It’s one of those days where the first time is always special and you don’t forget that,” Lowry said. “And I think their organization, they showed how classy they are, and they showed me that everything I did here, it meant the world to them.”
Spoelstra has missed just four games in his 14 seasons as the Heat’s head coach and two of them have come in the last two weeks.
After missing the Heat’s March 26 home loss to the Brooklyn Nets as one of his two sons underwent a medical procedure, Spoelstra did not coach Sunday because of the NBA’s health and safety protocols. Spoelstra was one of the few head coaches around the league who had not yet entered protocols this season, but he has now joined the list.
This news comes after the Heat was subject to a round of COVID-19 testing on Sunday upon entering Canada in order to return home because of U.S. restrictions.
Spoelstra could be forced to miss most of what’s left on the regular-season schedule. The Heat has just three games and one week left in the regular season before the playoffs begin on April 16.
The Heat’s final three regular-season games: Tuesday vs. Charlotte Hornets, Friday vs. Atlanta Hawks and Sunday at Orlando Magic.
For those who test positive, the quarantine period is five days for asymptomatic and vaccinated NBA players and coaches to return if testing data shows they’re no longer at risk to be infectious. Spoelstra’s five-day quarantine period runs through Friday, which means he won’t be able to return until Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Magic unless he returns consecutive negative PCR tests at least 24 hours apart before then.
Spoelstra, 51, missed two games prior to this season because of the birth of his two sons, Santiago and Dante.
Sunday was the Heat’s first win without Spoelstra on the sideline. Miami had dropped the first three games he missed.
“It feels great,” said Quinn, who received the game ball from Lowry. “Obviously, moving over a chair for a game, there’s a lot of pressure. With the Heat, we expect to win regardless of the circumstances. So it feels good just to get a win for the team, for the organization.”
With the Heat missing four rotation players, it needed others to step up. Oladipo delivered with his best performance of the season.
Oladipo not only tied a career-high with six made threes on Sunday, but he set new season-highs in points (21) and minutes played (27). He also grabbed three rebounds, dished out four assists and finished with two steals.
“It was amazing to see what he did,” Quinn said. “These are things that we have seen daily behind the scenes. It’s the hard work, it’s the grit, it’s the grind. Obviously, coming off of what he came off injury wise and for him to get to this point, it’s just still part of the process of him becoming what he can be.”
The 6-of-9 three-point shooting aspect of his night likely isn’t sustainable, considering Oladipo has shot 34.8 percent on threes during his NBA career. Prior to Oladipo’s three-point performance against the Raptors, he was shooting just 4 of 16 (25 percent) from beyond the arc this season.
But his energy, quickness and athleticism flashed throughout the game and that’s encouraging for the Heat.
Early in the second quarter, Oladipo committed one of his five turnovers and he raced down the court to draw a charge to stop the Raptors’ transition opportunity seconds later.
Later in the game, Oladipo drove into the paint for an impressive dunk at a critical point. The dunk gave the Heat a two-point lead with 5:38 to play.
How good was Oladipo on Sunday? The Heat left him on the court for the entire fourth quarter, as he produced nine points on 3-of-3 shooting from the field, including 2-of-2 shooting from deep, one rebound and two assists in the period.
“This is what I’m used to,” Oladipo said, downplaying his performance. “It’s nothing spectacular or anything like that. This is who I am.”
Sunday marked Oladipo’s seventh appearance since returning last month from an 11-month recovery from surgery to repair the quadriceps tendon in his right knee.
It remains to be seen if Oladipo will remain a part of the Heat’s rotation when the roster returns to full health, which is expected in the coming days. Oladipo had dropped out of the rotation and had not played in three straight games before stepping in for those missing on Sunday.
The short-handed Heat’s rotation in Toronto also included Caleb Martin, Markieff Morris and Omer Yurtseven.
Martin, who received his second DNP-CD (did not play, coach’s decision) of the season in Saturday’s loss to the Chicago Bulls, finished with four points on 2-of-6 shooting from the field, three rebounds, one steal and four blocks in 26 minutes.
Morris, who had not played in four straight games, recorded 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field and 2-of-6 shooting on threes, three rebounds, four assists and three steals in 26 minutes in his first start of the season.
Yurtseven ended the night with six points, two rebounds and one assist in 12 minutes. It marked the most minutes he has played in more than a month since Feb. 25.
The trend continues to hold: When the Heat makes a high percentage of its threes, it’s really tough to beat.
With the Raptors’ quality defense making things tough around the rim and no Butler to help produce offense in the paint, the Heat relied on its three-point shooting to score points on Sunday.
Miami’s shooters delivered, as the Heat finished 18 of 38 (47.4 percent) from deep in Toronto. The Heat improved to 27-2 this season when shooting 40 percent or better on threes.
Strus hit a team-high seven shots from beyond the arc. Strus was an incredible 7 of 9 from three-point range in the second half.
As a team, the Heat shot 12 of 18 (66.7 percent) on threes in the final two quarters.
“They got a lot of length, they fly around, a lot of size,” Quinn said. “So our three-point shooting was extremely important.”
The Heat needs just two more wins to clinch the East’s top playoff seed.
Sunday’s win moved the Heat two games ahead of the second-place Boston Celtics, and 2.5 games ahead of the third-place Milwaukee Bucks and fourth-place Philadelphia 76ers. The Heat has just three regular-season games left to play.
A 2-1 finish would guarantee the Heat the top spot in the East.
This story was originally published April 3, 2022 at 9:44 PM.
