Max Strus and explosive third quarter leads Heat past Hornets. Takeaways from the win
Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 132-115 win over the Charlotte Hornets (3-11) on Saturday night at FTX Arena. The Heat (6-7) will close its four-game homestand on Monday against the Phoenix Suns:
The Heat’s offense came alive in an explosive third quarter on Saturday.
After totaling 57 points on 22-of-50 (44 percent) shooting from the field and 6 of 21 (28.6 percent) shooting from three-point range in the first two quarters to enter halftime trailing by two points, the Heat came out of the locker room scorching.
Miami made its first 11 shots of the third quarter to begin the second half on a 31-13 run and turn a two-point deficit into a 16-point lead just 6:20 into the period. During that run, the Heat made each of its four three-point attempts.
The Heat ended the third quarter with 45 points on 16-of-21 (76.2 percent) shooting from the field, 6-of-9 (66.7 percent) shooting on threes and 7-of-8 shooting from the foul line in the period. Miami outscored Charlotte 45-25 in the third quarter to enter the fourth in full control with an 18-point lead.
Saturday’s 45-point third quarter tied for the sixth highest-scoring quarter in Heat history. The most points the Heat has ever totaled in a period came in a 48-point fourth quarter in a loss to the New York Knicks on March 2, 1989.
“I really liked some of the actions and willingness for guys to try to help another guy get a shot,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Saturday’s third quarter. “That’s not just leading to a three. It’s things that were leading to opportunities in the paint. Collaborating to try to generate a really good look for our basketball team and guys were really committed to that process. I just liked the way the flow was going offensively whether the shots were going down or not.”
Eight Heat players scored in Saturday’s third quarter.
Max Strus finished the period with a team-high 11 points with the help of 3-of-3 shooting on threes.
Also in the third quarter, Jimmy Butler contributed 10 points on 2-of-2 shooting from the field and 5-of-5 shooting from the foul line, and Bam Adebayo recorded seven points and seven rebounds.
The Hornets never were able to cut the Heat’s lead to single digits in the fourth quarter, as Miami came away with only its second double-digit win of the season. In fact, the Heat’s previous five games came down to the final seconds before Saturday’s blowout victory.
The Heat closed with a season-high 132 points.
“It was great,” Butler said of not having to sweat out the win. “I got to take my shoes off, put them on my pillow like DJ Khaled was over there doing.”
Butler was referring to the popular DJ Khaled, who sat courtside on Saturday with his Jordan sneakers propped up on a pillow.
Saturday also represented a much-needed offensive performance for the Heat, which entered with the NBA’s ninth-worst offensive rating this season.
Strus and Gabe Vincent both turned in one of the best performances of their young NBA careers.
Strus, who started in place of the injured Tyler Herro, finished Saturday’s win with 31 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the field and 8-of-14 shooting on threes. He totaled 20 points while shooting 6-of-8 shooting from the field and 5-of-7 shooting on threes in the second half.
It was a bounce-back performance for Strus, who shot just 2 of 11 on threes in Thursday’s win over the Hornets.
“It’s all about how you respond to adversity and negativity,” Strus said. “I wasn’t proud of how I handled myself last game, so I just wanted to be more positive and come out more aggressive this game.”
Strus finished just one point shy on Saturday of matching his NBA career-high of 32 points. He also finished one three-pointer short of tying his NBA career-high for threes made in a game.
“He didn’t get his career-high. So that was disappointing,” Butler said sarcastically. “He should have done better, he should have been more thirsty and hunting more shots.”
Vincent finished Saturday’s win with 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 3-of-8 shooting on threes off the bench.
It marked just the ninth game in Vincent’s NBA career that he has scored at least 20 points in.
“When Max is making shots like that, Gabe is making shots like that, the game looks very, very easy and we look very, very good,” Butler said.
Two other Heat players also scored 20 or more points on Saturday: Adebayo finished with 24 points, 15 rebounds and four assists, and Butler finished with 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field, seven rebounds and eight assists.
Star guard LaMelo Ball returned for the Hornets, but that wasn’t enough for Charlotte to pull off the upset.
In his first action of the season, Ball finished with 15 points on 6-of-17 shooting from the field, six rebounds and six assists. He missed the Hornets’ first 13 games because of a sprained left ankle.
“Definitely the pace, without a doubt,” Spoelstra said before Monday’s game when asked how Ball’s return would change things. That’s something that we’ve been trying to get better at regardless. But he’s one of the very best in just changing the speed and pace of the game. Regardless of whether he’s 100 percent or not, he and Kyle [Lowry] are the best pitch-ahead guys in the league, so it will be a good challenge for us.”
Ball had his moments, including a running floater as the first quarter buzzer sounded. But he was limited by foul trouble, as he sat out most of the second quarter after picking up his third foul with 8:59 left in the first half.
The Hornets, which were outscored 75-56 in the second half on Saturday, have lost eight straight games after starting the season with a 3-3 record.
The Heat was optimistic that Herro wouldn’t need to miss too much time. But Herro’s sprained ankle forced him to miss a third straight game on Saturday.
Herro sprained his left ankle over a week ago in the Heat’s Nov. 4 loss to the Indiana Pacers. He was listed as questionable for Saturday’s game, but was eventually ruled out about two hours prior to tipoff.
“He’s done work in shootarounds and everything behind the scenes,” Spoelstra said when asked about Herro’s status before Saturday’s game. “Sometimes those things just take a little bit more time than what you want it to and that’s where we are right now. But he’s doing everything he needs to do to give himself a chance.”
Without Herro for the last three games, the Heat has moved Strus into the starting lineup in his place.
Herro’s next opportunity to return will be Monday against the Suns.
The Heat was also without Victor Oladipo (left knee tendinosis), Dru Smith (G League assignment) and Omer Yurtseven (left ankle impingement) on Saturday against the Hornets.
It’s also worth noting that two-way contract forward Jamal Cain, who was recalled from the G League on Friday, was on the Heat’s active list on Saturday for the fourth time this season. He’s only eligible to be active for the Heat for as many as 50 regular-season games under the NBA’s two-way contract rules, with the rest of his playing time needing to come in the G League.
Cain scored his first NBA points on Saturday, hitting a three-pointer with 35 seconds to play in the blowout win.
The Heat honored former All-Star guard Tim Hardaway.
The Heat celebrated Hardaway’s recent enshrinement into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame with a halftime ceremony on Saturday. Hardaway took part in an interview with Heat television play-by-play announcer Eric Reid on the court during the ceremony.
The Heat also played a Hardaway tribute video during the first timeout of Saturday’s game filled with highlights from his career and current Heat players speaking about Hardaway’s legacy. Hardaway received a standing ovation from the crowd at the end of the video.
“It’s always great to come back here,” Hardaway said to reporters following the halftime ceremony. “Always great to come back here. Friends, family, the Heat family, owners, the people here in the organization. It’s always great to come back and reminisce.”
Hardaway was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in September as part of the Class of 2022. His No. 10 jersey was retired by the Heat on Oct. 28, 2009 and that banner hanging in the arena now includes his Hall of Fame induction.
Hardaway averaged 17.3 points while shooting 41 percent from the field and 35.6 percent from three-point range, 7.8 assists and 1.5 steals in 367 regular-season games in his six seasons with the Heat from 1996-2001. Among the Heat’s all-time leaders, Hardaway ranks first in three-pointers made (806), second in assists (2,867), sixth in steals (541), and ninth in points (6,335) and field goals made (2,252).
This story was originally published November 12, 2022 at 10:25 PM.
