Heat reaches 10-game mark at 4-6. Takeaways from loss to Pacers and Herro explains final shot
The Miami Heat had an opportunity to reach the 10-game mark at .500 after a 2-5 start to the season.
Instead of taking advantage of that opportunity, the Heat (4-6) came up just short in a 101-99 loss to the Indiana Pacers (4-5) on Friday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
“We’re getting better and you saw some really good things dealing with adversity down 10 and then able to really grind and get this game to a possession game and have some opportunities down the stretch,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We just weren’t able to get it done.”
The Heat trailed for most of the game, entering halftime in a 12-point hole and then entering the fourth quarter in a three-point hole. Even with 7:58 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Pacers found themselves ahead by eight points.
But in the end, it came down to one shot.
Trailing by two points and with possession of the ball with 7.6 seconds to play, the Heat had a chance to force overtime or escape with the win.
The Heat went for the win, but guard Tyler Herro missed what would have been a game-winning three from 28 feet out as the final buzzer sounded to end Miami’s hopes of completing the comeback.
“We couldn’t take the lead going down the stretch,” Spoelstra said. “That was what we were searching for the last four or five minutes. To get that lead to see if that would change the dynamic a little bit.”
The Heat’s first-half struggles proved too much to overcome. Miami shot just 34.9 percent from the field and 5 of 24 (20.8 percent) from three-point range while committing 10 turnovers in the first two quarters to allow Indiana to build a double-digit lead in the first half.
Three Pacers players scored more than 20 points in their win: Buddy Hield finished with 25 points, Tyrese Haliburton finished with 22 points and Bennedict Mathurin finished with 23 points.
The Heat was led by Herro, who ended the night with a game-high 29 points on 8-of-20 shooting from the field. Max Strus contributed 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
The Heat was without star Jimmy Butler for a second straight game because of a hip injury. Along with missing Butler, Miami was also without Nikola Jovic (nasal contusion), Victor Oladipo (left knee tendinosis) and Omer Yurtseven (left ankle impingement) against the Pacers.
Following the quick one-game trip to Indianapolis, the Heat now returns to Miami to begin a four-game homestand that begins Monday night against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Five takeaways from the Heat’s loss to the Pacers on Friday:
Herro put himself in position to hit a game-winning three for the second straight game. But Friday’s shot didn’t go in.
In Wednesday’s victory over the Sacramento Kings, the score was tied when Herro went for the game-winning three-pointer and made it with 2.5 seconds to play.
On Friday, the Heat came out of a timeout trailing by two points with 7.6 seconds left. Instead of going for the tie and forcing overtime, Herro went for the game-winning three.
“Probably made my mind up probably a little too early before I even stepped on the court,” Herro said. “Once I saw the play was for me, I decided I was going to go for the win. I saw the shot and the adjustments I’ll make next time I’m in that position already.”
Herro caught the inbounds pass and never called for a screen, instead isolating his defender and dribbling around the arc until rising up for a fadeway three-pointer from the right wing that grazed off the front rim as the final buzzer sounded.
“It felt good,” Herro said of the shot. “It was just a little short. It was on line, though. Just short.”
Spoelstra said the Heat was going for the “best shot” on the final play and that it was ultimately Herro’s decision to go for the three instead of the tie.
“Ideally you would like to get something going to the basket and go right away so you give yourself a chance for an offensive rebound,” Spoelstra said. “But he did get bottled up. There was a lot of pressure on the ball and it forced him to dribble out to the halfcourt. At that point, he was just trying to get whatever space he could get.”
The Heat’s half-court defense was impressive, especially in the 2-3 zone. But Miami again gave up too many transition points.
The Pacers, which entered with the NBA’s fifth-best offensive rating, were limited to just 39 points on 42.1 percent shooting from the field and 5-of-20 (25 percent) shooting on threes in a sloppy second-half performance that also included 12 turnovers.
Indiana still found a way to win, but Miami’s defense was one of the bright spots in its loss.
The Heat held the Pacers to 80.7 points per 100 half-court plays on Friday. For perspective on how excellent Miami’s defensive performance was, the Milwaukee Bucks currently own the NBA’s best half-court defense with 84.3 points allowed per 100 half-court plays this season.
The Heat allowed just 0.93 points per possession in 54 man-to-man possessions in half-court situations and allowed just 0.75 points per possession in 32 zone possessions in half-court situations on Friday.
“I don’t really care what our scheme is. I just want us to commit defensively to do tough things that are required in this league,” Spoelstra said, “The skill level is so high and the shooting and the passing and the spread offenses that it doesn’t matter what our scheme is. You have to commit to making multiple efforts, doing tough things, the intangibles, all the little things that build a stable reliable top-flight defense.
“We’re not there yet, but we’re making progress and we just have to keep plugging away and improving in both man and zone.”
The Pacers did a lot of damage in transition, though, which has been an area of the game that the Heat’s defense has been working to improve through the first two-plus weeks of the schedule.
Indiana outscored Miami 25-9 in fast-break points to help negate its struggles in the halfcourt.
The Heat’s turnover issues helped the Pacers get into the open court. Indiana scored 23 points on Miami’s 19 turnovers.
“We got to keep getting better at it,” Heat guard Kyle Lowry said. “Our transition defense is going to be something we’re going to continuously work on and coach has been harping on that. But we just got to keep working.”
The Heat put themselves in a hole early on by missing a lot of shots.
The Heat’s offense hasn’t exactly been great to start to the season, entering with the NBA’s 10th-worst offensive rating.
The Pacers’ defense has been worse through the first two weeks of the season, entering with the league’s fourth-worst defensive rating.
In the first half, though, Miami could not take advantage.
The Butler-less Heat shot just 34.9 percent from the field and 5 of 24 (20.8 percent) from three-point range while committing 10 turnovers in the first two quarters to enter halftime trailing by 12.
“I actually thought we generated a lot of good open looks, particularly those drive-and-kick threes,” Spoelstra said. “A lot of those were not with any kind of duress and I liked the unselfishness and guys trying to help each other get good looks. We missed some of those.”
Lowry agrees.
“We got great looks tonight,” Lowry said. “I’m happy with our looks tonight. We missed some shots.”
Two of the Heat’s best outside shooters Duncan Robinson (0 of 6 on threes) and Lowry (1 of 6 on threes) combined to shoot 1 of 12 from three-point range in the loss.
The Heat’s offense played better in the second half, totaling 49 points on 6-of-15 (40 percent) shooting on threes. But it wasn’t enough to negate its early struggles on Friday.
Following Friday’s game, the Heat now owns the ninth-worst offensive rating in the league.
Bam Adebayo was questionable because of a right knee contusion, but he played through the pain on Friday.
The Heat’s starting center looked to move well, finishing with 18 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in 34 minutes.
Adebayo made clear before Friday’s game that it would take more than a bruised knee to keep him out of a game.
“You know how much stuff I’ve done played through?” Adebayo said Friday morning. “You think I’m not going to play through a knee-to-knee [collision]? I woke up [Thursday] morning and it was kind of sore, and I told the training staff. We’ve got one of the best training staffs in the league.
“I’m all for the team. If I can walk, I feel like I can play. That’s just how I feel, me personally. I’ve been like that since I got in the league. I’ve played through injury. I’ve played through fatigue. So it’s just another day.”
Forward Jamal Cain was with the Heat and in uniform for Friday’s game against the Pacers. He’s expected to be sent back to the G League soon.
Following Thursday’s practice with the organization’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Skyforce, Cain received the call to join the Heat in Indianapolis as part of his two-way contract. He provided some much-needed frontcourt depth amid the Heat’s injury issues.
The Heat played without Butler, Jovic, Oladipo and Yurtseven on Friday.
“We just wanted to have another body,” Spoelstra said of the decision to bring in Cain. “It was a pretty easy flight. He actually got here shortly after we did [on Thursday night].”
But Cain did not play in Friday’s game, as the Heat went with a bench rotation of Dewayne Dedmon, Gabe Vincent, Robinson and Haywood Highsmith against the Pacers. Vincent scored 15 of Miami’s 19 bench points in the loss.
Cain is expected to rejoin the Skyforce immediately following Friday’s game for their G League opener on Saturday night against the Iowa Wolves in Des Moines, Iowa.
“I kind of was expecting it,” Cain said Friday of his first back-and-forth experience as a two-way contract player. “I knew this was going to come with having a two-way, so I really don’t see it as a challenge. It’s just like how my process is going right now. It’s just my reality, so no challenge.”
Friday marked just the third game that Cain has been on the Heat’s active list for. He’s only eligible to be on the Heat’s active list for as many as 50 regular-season games under the NBA’s two-way contract rules.
“Just trying to do whatever I can, just to contribute to winning,” Cain said. “I know [with the Heat] my role is going to be a little different than Sioux Falls. But I’m ready to embrace them and just play my heart out for both teams.”
This story was originally published November 4, 2022 at 9:41 PM.
