Takeaways from win over Hornets on Heat’s historic night to move closer to No. 1 playoff seed
The Miami Heat is now just one win away from securing the top playoff seed in the Eastern Conference.
Despite a shaky defensive performance at times, the Heat (52-28) used one of the best offensive performances in franchise history to run away with a 144-115 victory over the Charlotte Hornets (40-39) on Tuesday night at FTX Arena to extend its winning streak to five games. The Heat needs to win just one of its two remaining regular-season games to secure the conference’s top playoff spot.
The victory moved the Heat 2.5 games ahead of the second-place Boston Celtics, third-place Milwaukee Bucks and fourth-place Philadelphia 76ers in the East standings.
Tuesday’s contest was a high-scoring up-and-down affair that was decided by the Heat’s outside shooting.
“At halftime, we just said the first team that plays some defense will be able to gain a lead in the game,” Heat guard Tyler Herro said. “We were able to get some stops and turn it into offense.”
The Heat used an ultra-efficient 23-of-42 (54.8 percent) three-point shooting performance to completely negate a solid night for the Hornets’ offense. The 23 threes set a new Heat record, surpassing the previous franchise mark of 22 three-pointers.
The 144 points is also the second most that the Heat has ever scored in a game behind only a 149-point display in a double-overtime win over the Denver Nuggets on March 19, 2018.
“You can tell we have a lot of weapons on that end of the court when our shooters get it going and they have proper spacing,” said Heat assistant coach Chris Quinn, who served as head coach in Erik Spoelstra’s place for the second straight game because Spoelstra is in COVID-19 protocols. “The ball was moving, guys were helping each other get shots. It really was a team effort offensively.”
Charlotte shot 52.9 percent from the field, but still lost by nearly 30 points because it was outscored 69-36 from three-point range.
The Heat totaled 70 points behind 11-of-17 shooting from deep in the first half to enter halftime with a 10-point lead. But the Hornets, which have already clinched a spot in the East’s play-in tournament, were able to rally to take a three-point lead midway through the third quarter.
It didn’t take long for the Heat to regain control, though, as it responded by closing the game on a huge 61-29 run to turn a three-point third-quarter deficit into a 29-point win.
Herro was the catalyst. He finished with 35 points, a career-high for a regular-season game, on 11-of-18 shooting from the field, 6-of-10 shooting on threes and 7-of-7 shooting from the foul line.
Herro’s 35 points tied Dwyane Wade’s franchise record for the most points scored by a player off the bench in a single game.
“His confidence is at an all-time high as it should be,” Heat star Jimmy Butler said of Herro. “That Sixth Man of the Year, we already know who it’s going to.”
But Herro had plenty of help, as four Heat players finished with more than 20 points.
Butler ended the night with 27 points, five rebounds and eight assists.
Bam Adebayo totaled 22 points, nine rebounds and three assists.
Duncan Robinson contributed 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting from three-point range off the bench.
Behind Herro and Robinson, the Heat’s bench outscored the Hornets 74-35.
The Heat was without Kyle Lowry (rest), Dewayne Dedmon (ankle sprain), Markieff Morris (hip flexor strain) in the win. P.J. Tucker left Tuesday’s win in the third quarter because of a right calf strain.
Next up for the Heat is a matchup against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night at FTX Arena.
Here are five takeaways from the Heat’s win over the Hornets:
The Heat is the NBA’s most efficient three-point shooting team, but it has been especially efficient recently.
Setting a new franchise record with 23 made threes on Tuesday will help lift the metrics. But it’s the continuation of a true trend for Miami, which has shot better than 40 percent in four of the last five games.
Over its current five-game winning streak since the Heat made changes to its rotation in an effort to improve the offensive spacing, the Heat has shot 47.9 percent from three-point range.
“I think our spacing has improved and guys are working to help each other to get shots,” Quinn said. “Tyler is shooting more open shots. Duncan, obviously, tonight. Last game it was Max in place of Duncan. Our guys are really, really doing a good job of helping one another and enjoying each other playing well on the offensive end of the court.”
Robinson led the charge with a team-high seven made threes after finishing scoreless in Sunday’s win over the Toronto Raptors. He scored 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting on threes in the first half on Tuesday to tie a season-high for points and made threes for any half.
Herro finished 6 of 10 from deep. The six made threes tied a season-high for Herro.
Max Strus shot 3 of 5 and Caleb Martin shot 3 of 3 on threes.
The other notable shooting performance came from Butler, who finished 2 of 4 from beyond the arc. Butler, who is shooting just 23.7 percent from three-point range this season, is 10 of 22 (45.5 percent) on threes in his last seven games.
Three-point shooting continues to be an accurate indicator of the Heat’s win-loss chances this season. Miami improved to 28-2 this season when shooting 40 percent or better from three-point range.
Tuesday’s display is nothing new for the Heat, though, which holds NBA’s top team three-point percentage at 37.9 percent this season.
Four of the six games that the Heat has finished with at least 22 made threes in have come this season. Miami had made 22 threes in five games in franchise history before setting a new record with 23 threes on Tuesday.
The win was important, but the focus now shifts to Tucker’s injury.
Tucker was slow to get up before limping to the Heat’s locker room with a trainer by his side with 4:51 left in the third quarter. He did not return because of a right calf strain.
“All I really know is he strained his calf,” Quinn said. “He’ll get looked at tomorrow by the docs and that’s pretty much what I’ve heard.”
With less than two weeks left until the start of the playoffs, an injury to a key player is the last thing the Heats wants to see.
Tucker’s three-point shooting, screening and solid defense has been an important part of the Heat’s winning formula this season, as he has started in 70 of his 71 appearances this season.
Tucker, 36, recorded seven points, seven rebounds, two assists and one steal in 22 minutes before exiting Tuesday’s contest.
How did Victor Oladipo follow up his best performance of the season? He didn’t play.
Oladipo received a DNP-CD (did not play, coach’s decision) on Tuesday, which marked the fourth time he has been a healthy scratch in the last five games.
The only game he has played in during that stretch was Sunday’s win over the Raptors, when he finished with 21 points with the help of 6-of-9 shooting on threes, three rebounds, four assists and two steals. The 21 points represented a season high and the six made threes tied a career-high for Oladipo, who returned last month from an 11-month recovery from surgery to repair the quadriceps tendon in his right knee.
But even with Lowry given the night off on Tuesday, Oladipo was again out of the Heat’s rotation.
With Butler back in the lineup after missing Sunday’s contest, the Heat again prioritized playing shooters to create space for Adebayo and Butler on offense instead of a slasher and defender like Oladipo.
“It was just the way things were going,” Quinn said. “Obviously, the other night Vic played incredible. You can see what he brings to our team. Then tonight with Jimmy back and some other guys back, it’s just a decision to do what we were kind of doing before that Toronto game.”
Along with starting guard Gabe Vincent in place of Lowry alongside Strus, Butler, Tucker and Adebayo, the Heat went with a four-man bench rotation of Herro, Robinson, Martin and Omer Yurtseven.
The Heat continues to win when Strus starts.
Now only did Strus make his fifth straight start after replacing Robinson in the starting lineup, but the Heat also improved to 13-2 in games that Strus has started this season. Miami is 5-0 since Strus moved into the starting group for Robinson last week.
Strus put together another solid performance, too, finishing with 12 points on 3-of-5 shooting from deep, one rebound and three assists in Tuesday’s win over the Hornets.
Strus has averaged 16.6 points on 48.6 percent shooting from the field and 46.4 percent shooting on threes in his 15 starts this season.
But Robinson played more minutes than Strus on Tuesday. With Robinson making a bunch of threes in the first half, he logged 27 minutes off the bench compared to Strus’ 19 minutes against the Hornets.
“It’s going to be different. That’s kind of what this year has been in a lot of senses,” Robinson said of his new bench role. “The role and involvement and everything has looked different night to night. That’s what you get when you play on a good team with a lot of guys that can do a lot of different things. For me, it’s just about wrapping my mind around that and it’s definitely not something that’s easy.”
Tuesday marked just the fifth game that Spoelstra has missed in his 14 seasons as the Heat’s head coach.
Spoelstra remains away from the team because of COVID-19 protocols. He has now missed two straight games since entering protocols on Sunday, the same day the Heat was subject to a round of COVID-19 testing upon entering Canada for its machup against the Raptors in order to return home because of U.S. restrictions.
The good news for Spoelstra is he was able to get back home on Sunday night by driving to Buffalo, N.Y., and then taking a private flight back to Miami. And he apparently remains very involved in the Heat’s preparation even while he’s away.
“Spo is involved every step of the way still,” Quinn said. “Even today prepping for the game, he’s still doing everything like he normally would, just remotely. The game plan, the preps, all that stuff. I’ve FaceTimed and Zoomed with Spo more in the past 48 hours than probably in a long time.”
Spoelstra could miss more time this week, too. The Heat has just two games left on its regular-season schedule: Friday vs. 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 produces consecutive negative PCR tests at least 24 hours apart before then.
This story was originally published April 5, 2022 at 10:09 PM.
