Takeaways from Heat’s road victory over Jazz clinched by another game-winner from Tyler Herro

Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s dramatic 126-123 New Year’s Eve win over the Utah Jazz (19-20) on Saturday night at Vivint Arena to improve to 1-1 on its five-game West Coast trip. The Heat (19-18) now heads to Los Angeles to take on the Clippers on Monday and Lakers on Wednesday:

The Heat’s offense has not been good this season. But the Heat took advantage of a bad Jazz defense to turn in its best offensive performance of the season, capping it off with another game-winner from Tyler Herro.

The Heat entered Saturday’s game with the NBA’s fifth-worst offensive rating this season. The Jazz entered with the NBA’s fifth-worst defensive rating.

It was Miami’s offense that won the battle between the two struggling units, and it wasn’t even close.

Even without its leading scorer in Jimmy Butler (right knee injury management), the Heat scored 126 points on 50.6 percent shooting from the field and 23-of-30 (76.7 percent) shooting from the foul line in Saturday’s win. Miami shot just 13 of 39 (33.3 percent) from three-point range, but was efficient from just about everywhere else on the court to close 14 of 17 (82.4 percent) at the rim and 18 of 33 (54.5 percent) in the midrange.

The Heat posted an offensive rating of 128.6 points scored per 100 possessions in Saturday’s win for its best single-game offensive rating of the season. Miami finished with 32 assists on 45 made baskets.

“What I liked about it is we came off a really disappointing loss last night,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said, referencing Friday’s loss to the Nuggets in Denver. “And as competitors, we have a lot of competitors in that locker room, sometimes your response to that is to try to self-will. And instead tonight it was way more of a team will that we were just going to figure out whatever way we had to do to get this win.

“Offensively, we were going to let the execution and unselfishness generate the best shot for the team. There wasn’t any kind of agenda about touches or where the ball was going to, shot attempts or anything of that nature. It was more about who was open, the ball would find him and making the necessary play.”

As expected with Butler out, the Heat’s second and third-leading scorers led the way against the Jazz. Bam Adebayo (32 points, eight rebounds and five assists) and Herro (29 points, nine rebounds and six assists) combined for 61 points on 37 shots.

Herro won the game for the Heat, breaking a 123-123 tie by taking the inbounds pass from the backcourt and dribbling into a contested three-point runner over 7-foot Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen that somehow went in as the final buzzer sounded. The possession began with just 6.3 seconds left on the clock.

It marked Herro’s third game-winner of the season.

“I’m going to get somewhere for sure, whether it’s off one leg, two legs, whatever it is, just trying to get to a spot and just create a shot for myself or for a teammate,” Herro said of his mindset on the final possession. “Time was running out and I was just able to get it up. I saw some space and I was able to get it up.”

Adebayo said he knew the shot was going in as soon as it left Herro’s hand.

“When it was in the air, I was like, ‘Man, Utah’s about to be an upset city,’” Adebayo said. “Sorry for whoever lives in Utah. It went in and a good way to end the old year to the new year.”

The Heat needed every bit of that offensive production because its defense was not as good on Saturday. The Jazz, which entered with the league’s fifth-best offensive rating, scored 123 points on 17-of-40 (42.5 percent) shooting from three-point range and 36-of-44 (81.8 percent) shooting from the foul line while also generating 22 second-chance points on 16 offensive rebounds.

Miami’s offense was good from start to finish, totaling more than 30 or more points in three quarters.

In the first half, the Heat scored 69 points on 55.3 percent shooting from the field and committed just six turnovers to enter halftime with a six-point lead.

But it turned out to be another back-and-forth game involving the Heat that came down to the final seconds. Saturday’s contest included 20 lead changes and 14 ties.

It represented the Heat’s league-leading 25th clutch game of the season, as it improved to 14-11 in those situations. A clutch game is defined as a game that has a margin of five points or fewer inside the final five minutes of the fourth quarter.

The Jazz made the Heat work for the win until the very end, even after Miami went ahead by six points with 1:22 to play.

After Heat guard Gabe Vincent fouled Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson on a three-point attempt with Miami ahead by five points and 14.2 seconds to play, Clarkson made all three throws to cut Miami’s lead to two points.

Spoelstra then called timeout to advance the ball to the frontcourt. The Heat was able to find a streaking Victor Oladipo on the inbounds pass to force a Jazz foul to preserve the clock, but Oladipo only made one of the two free throws to push the Heat’s lead to three and keep it a one-possession game with 13.2 seconds remaining

Heat forward Haywood Highsmith then was called for a questionable foul while trying to challenge a Markkanen three-point attempt. Markkanen made all three free throws to tie the game at 123 with 6.3 seconds left.

“H just did a tremendous job of taking away and crowding air space,” Spoelstra said of that play. “It really did not look like a foul live, but those are not easy plays to call. I get it.”

Herro’s game-winner followed. The Heat is 5-1 in its past six road games.

“As soon as Tyler got a little bit of air space, that was a tough contorted twisted shot,” Spoelstra said. “But I think it was a karma shot for our guys really being connected in this game and having the right approach today in the walk through, as well, after a very tough loss last night.

“More than anything, it was just a gutsy win and it’s a good way to get into 2023.”

Butler was not with the Heat in Salt Lake City. Instead, he was in Los Angeles to meet with a doctor about his right knee.

Butler missed his 14th game of the season on Saturday after logging 38 minutes in Friday’s loss to the Nuggets on the front end of the back-to-back. The Heat 7-7 in games without Butler this season.

Saturday’s absence was prearranged as part of the Heat’s injury management plan for his right knee, which kept him out for seven straight games in November because of soreness.

The Heat did not play Butler in both games of any December back-to-back. The hope is that pattern will change and the Heat won’t have to be as cautious with Butler moving forward.

Following Friday’s loss in Denver, Butler headed straight to Los Angeles to have his right knee checked. He was evaluated by a doctor on Saturday and received final clearance to again take part in back-to-backs, according to a league source.

The good news for Butler is there isn’t a back-to-back on the Heat’s schedule for more than a month. Miami’s next back-to-back set is on Feb. 10-11.

The Heat will now meet Butler in Los Angeles.

Butler wasn’t the only starter and rotation player the Heat was without on Saturday.

Along with missing Butler, the Heat also didn’t have Dewayne Dedmon (health and safety protocols), Nikola Jovic (G League), Caleb Martin (left quadriceps strain) and Omer Yurtseven (left ankle surgery).

Butler and Martin were the two starters missing, and Dedmon has been a regular in the bench rotation when he’s been available.

The Heat has been plagued by injuries so far this season. Miami entered Saturday with the second-most missed games in the NBA (137 missed games) this season, according to Spotrac.

With two starters out, the Heat used its 16th different starting lineup on Saturday. Miami opened the game with a lineup that included Kyle Lowry, Herro, Max Strus, Highsmith and Adebayo.

The Heat has not started the same lineup in consecutive games over its last 10 games because of its ongoing injury issues. The last time Miami used the same starting lineup in consecutive games was in a Dec. 10 loss to the San Antonio Spurs and a Dec. 12 win over the Indiana Pacers.

With so many rotation players out, including its leading scorer in Butler, the Heat needed somebody to step into a bigger offensive role in their place. Oladipo was up to the task.

Oladipo finished with a season-high 23 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field, 4-of-9 shooting from three-point range and 5-of-7 shooting from the foul line, five rebounds and five assists in 35 minutes.

Oladipo also produced the highlight of the game, using his burst to get into the paint and dunk over 7-foot Jazz center Walker Kessler, who was also called for a foul on the play. Oladipo made the free throw to complete the three-point play at a very critical point of the game, erasing a three-point deficit to tie the game at 107 with 6:15 left in the fourth quarter.

“Like I’ve been saying, soon I’ll be exactly where I need to be,” Oladipo said. “So I just got to build on this and just keep getting better. It’s not always going to be perfect, but my mindset can be, for sure.”

Oladipo provided an offensive spark from the start, totaling 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field, 2-of-5 shooting from three-point range and 3-of-4 shooting from the foul line, two rebounds and three assists in the first half.

This was a much-needed offensive display for the Heat and Oladipo, who had been struggling to make shots since returning from a left knee injury that forced him to miss the first 24 games of the season. He entered Saturday’s game averaging eight points on an inefficient 36.4 percent shooting from the field and 10-of-41 (24.4 percent) shooting from three-point range in his first 10 games.

Along with his best offensive performance of the season, Oladipo also provided his usual quality defense with three steals on Saturday. He has recorded 20 steals in the 11 games he has appeared in this season.

The short-handed Heat also used both of its two-way contract players on Saturday.

Forward Jamal Cain and center Orlando Robinson, who are both on two-way deals after going undrafted this past summer, played off the bench against the Jazz with three rotation regulars unavailable because of injuries.

Playing in just his third game for the Heat since Nov. 30, Cain finished with two points and one rebound in four minutes.

Orlando Robinson has been a more consistent member of the rotation recently, with Dedmon missing his fifth straight game on Saturday. Playing as the backup center in Dedmon’s absence, Orlando Robinson finished with two points, three rebounds and one assist in 12 minutes against the Jazz while logging double-digit minutes for the fourth time in the last five games.

Spoelstra extended the bench rotation on the second night of the road back-to-back to include five players: Oladipo, Orlando Robinson, Cain, Gabe Vincent and Duncan Robinson.

Udonis Haslem was the only available Heat player who did not appear in Saturday’s game.

This story was originally published December 31, 2022 at 11:54 PM.

Anthony Chiang

Miami Herald

305-376-4991

Anthony Chiang covers the Miami Heat for the Miami Herald. He attended the University of Florida and was born and raised in Miami.