Heat outlasts Charlotte Hornets in double overtime. Details, takeaways
Twelve nights ago in this downtown arena, the Heat rode a stunning 35-8 third quarter stampede to erase a five-point halftime deficit and storm past Charlotte.
On Thursday, the Heat might have topped that on the “wow” meter, overcoming a 14-point deficit with just over eight minutes left in the fourth quarter and then outlasting the Hornets in double overtime, 111-107.
Kyle Lowry scored eight points in the first overtime and four more points in the second OT to lead the way and Jimmy Butler overcame a brutal 5 for 24 night with two big jumpers in the second overcome.
“Couldn’t ask for more to go through all of that experience,” Erik Spoelstra said. “Coaches love these games; it wasn’t going to be easy.”
And so the Heat goes to the All Star break in first place in the Eastern Conference at 38-21.
With his team down 14, Spoelstra reinserted his starting group, and those five (Butler, Bam Adebayo, Lowry, Duncan Robinson, PJ Tucker) outscored the Hornets 23-9 to force overtime.
“We wanted to find a way to win the game,” Lowry said.
After Montrez Harrell tied the game on a dunk with 23 seconds left in regulation, Butler wound the clock down and missed a difficult fall-back jumper, sending the game to overtime.
Spoelstra stuck with his starting group for nearly all of both overtimes.
In the first overtime, Lowry hit three big baskets: a three, a driving layup to tie the game at 94 and then a three to put the Heat ahead 97-94 with 45 seconds left. Lowry’s foot appeared to be on the three-point line after that second three, which was not reviewed.
“By rule, the basket by Lowry must be reviewed at the next clock stoppage which was at the 2:00 mark,” referee Sean Wright said. “Once the ball was inbounded by Charlotte, by rule, the window to review the shot was now closed.”
After a Hornets basket, Lowry stepped out of bounds with 12 seconds left.
Harrell was fouled by PJ Tucker on a shot attempt with 1.7 seconds left and hit the first free throw to tie the game but missed the second. After a timeout, Butler’s corner three-point attempt was blocked with 0.4 seconds left, sending the game to a second overtime.
Harrell scored the first points of the second overtime, on a put-back of a miss. But Robinson came back with a three, to put the Heat ahead one and Butler then took a charge from PJ Washington.
Lowry then hit a floater to push the lead to three and Butler jumper made it a five-point game with 1:06 left.
Butler, shaking off a 3 for 22 start, then nailed another jumper to push the lead to 107-102. Lowry’s layup extended the margin to six with 15 seconds left.
Lowry closed with 25 points, 9 rebounds and five assists, shooting 6 for 11 on threes.
“You saw what Kyle was able to do in clutch moments,” Spoelstra said. “He’s a highly decorated clutch player. He has done a marvelous job reading this team and figuring out how to help everybody. That’s what he’s been about all these months, trying to get everyone comfortable. His career has been based on clutch moments.”
Lowry’s offensive lift helped overcome a difficult offensive night from Butler, who opened 1 for 10 from the field and finished 5 for 24 on a 15-point night.
But Butler came through with those two big baskets late in the second overtime, to go with 10 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 blocks in 51 minutes.
Bam Adebayo missed five free throws in regulation but hit two in overtime and finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists.
Robinson (21 points) made key contributions during the fourth quarter rally and overtime.
“Really important the boost he gave us,” Spoelstra said. “The threes he hit and passing out of the traps, that gave us life when we were trying to come back in the game.”
The bench - among the league’s five highest scoring for most of the season - was at a deficit, with Miami missing three key reserves: Tyler Herro, Caleb Martin and Dwayne Dedmon.
Kelly Oubre (15) and new Hornets reserve Harrell (24) gave Miami fits, with Harrell scoring seven points early in the fourth to push the Hornets’ lead to 14 before the Heat rallied.
The Heat won despite missing 34 three pointers; Miami closed 14 for 48 on threes (29.2 percent).
“We were going to have to really lock down defensively and they gave us confidence where we didn’t feel like we would have to score every single possession,” Spoelstra said of the Heat’s defense during the fourth quarter comeback and overtime periods. “Guys fed off that energy.
“Guys are human. They’re pros in that locker room. We’ve been grinding for weeks. We were flat in the second and third quarters but were able to dig out and make plays at the end.”
Five takeaways from the game:
▪ Butler was passive early on an off night offensively but helped the Heat in other areas and made two key baskets in the second overtime.
Butler attempted just two shots in the game’s first 17 minutes, missing both, before scoring his first basket on a driving layup with 4:38 left in the second quarter.
He went to the half with just that one basket (in four attempts) and four points – surprising considering he entered averaging 29 points against the Hornets this season.
He then six missed his first six shots after intermission, including a three and several in the basket area that he often converts.
But his two free throws put Miami ahead 86-85 with under two minutes left in regulation.
Though he missed difficult shots at both the end of regulation and the end of overtime on a tough shooting night, he came through with the two jumpers late in the second overtime.
Spoelstra indicated he didn’t mind Butler taking difficult shots to close regulation and the first overtime.
“I wanted the walk off, send us into the All Star break with that,” Spoelstra said. “I like all the shots he’s shooting. Those are shots that are going to be available and teams are going to try to protect the paint and put size on our guys.”
Butler shot 1 for 8 on threes and is now 15 for 78 on threes this season --- 19.2 percent.
“Missed a lot of shots tonight, but I’m going to stay aggressive,” he said.
Butler entered averaging 21.9 points, his most in three years with the Heat and his highest scoring output since he averaged 22.2 in 2017-18 with Minnesota.
What’s more, Butler had scored 20 or more in 7 of Miami’s last 11 games - including a 29-point game Tuesday against Dallas - and games of 37, 27 and 29 in the past three weeks.
He shot 50 percent or better from the field in six of those 11 games but was 4 for 11 against Brooklyn last Saturday and 8 for 18 against Dallas. That mini-slump worsened Thursday but he helped his team late.
▪ The Heat’s starting group, brilliant against Charlotte 12 nights ago, was very good as a group, leading that furious fourth quarter rally.
Since being reunited recently for the first time since Thanksgiving weekend, the Heat’s starting quintet of Butler, Adebayo, Lowry, Robinson and Tucker entered Thursday having outscored teams by 41 points in 82 minutes over five games, while shooting 50 percent.
That was the league’s second-best quintet from a plus-minus standpoint over that time, behind only a five-man Boston lineup.
On Thursday, those five Heat starters pushed the Heat to a 21-12 lead before Spoelstra’s first substitutions.
That group outscored the Hornets 13-10 to start the second half - cutting a seven point halftime deficit to three.
And with his team down 78-64, Spoelstra went back to his starting group with under nine minutes left in the fourth, and the group unleashed a 17-5 run, pushing Miami ahead.
Spoelstra stuck with his starters for nearly all of both overtimes, and their defense remained at an exceptional level throughout.
“They’re elite competitors,” Spoelstra said of that group. “That term gets thrown around a lot. These are real competitors. And they were gassed at the end. They’re in world class shape. It’s about mental toughness and making winning plays.”
▪ PJ Tucker completed an excellent pre-All Star break schedule.
When the Heat needed offense early in the third, Tucker kept the Heat afloat with a floater, a three and a basket off an offensive rebound.
He closed with 15 points, 10 rebounds and two assists.
He finished the first half of the season shooting 45.5 percent on three pointers, best in the league, while averaging 8.5 points and 5.5 rebounds and playing outstanding defense.
Tucker leads the Heat in plus/minus, and the Heat outscored Charlotte by 27 points during his 44 minutes.
▪ Omer Yurtseven again seized on Dedmon’s absence.
A rebounding demon when he played regularly for a time earlier in the season, Yurtseven has displayed impressive offensive efficiency over a sizable stretch of appearances.
Displaying a soft touch and a nifty hook, Yurtseven scored eight points on 4 for 4 shooting in five first-quarter minutes and closed with 10 points.
That followed an 11-point, 5-rebound, 18-minute stint against Dallas on Tuesday.
He entered having made 34 of his last 46 shots in 10 games since Jan. 12.
Now make it 39 for 52.
“The big [guy] plays with a ton of energy,” Hornets coach James Borrego said.
The bad news: The Heat was outscored by 15 in Yurtseven’s 14 minutes, after finishing at minus 8 in his 15 minutes against Dallas.
Of course, if Herro and Dedmon were available, that plus/minus might have been a lot better. But if Dedmon were available, Yurtseven likely wouldn’t have played.
▪ The Heat was again short-handed, but several players now get the All Star game to heal lingering injuries.
Those injuries include Martin’s Achilles soreness (his twin brother Cody missed Thursday’s game with that same silent), Herro’s knee contusion and Dedmon’s back.
The week-long break also moves Victor Oladipo a week closer to his return from last May’s right quadriceps tendon surgery. And Markeiff Morris’ return from a neck injury also remains a possibility, though the Heat hadn’t yet cleared him to play in games.
The absence of Martin and Herro against created an opportunity for Haywood Highsmith, the undrafted fourth-year small forward from Wheeling, who logged 14 minutes in his 12th NBA game. The Heat was outscored by 25 points during his minutes.
And now, it’s onto the All-Star Game, where Spoelstra and Jimmy Butler will represent the Heat in Sunday’s showcase.
Borrego said he wished Hornets guard LaMelo Ball, a first-time All Star, could travel with Butler to the game “and soak up his knowledge, experience, DNA that he brings to the table.”
Meanwhile, six Heat assistant coaches will coach in Friday night’s Rising Stars game.
This story was originally published February 17, 2022 at 10:03 PM.
