No, not optimum.
Coming off a sport after they arguably had been at their worst, the Miami Heat confronted the problem of responding to that adversity within the void of their finest participant.
It went as anticipated.
In a loss that makes the play-in event a extra probably postseason end result, the place one or two losses imply the top of a season, the Heat fell flat within the absence of Jimmy Butler in a 106-92 loss Tuesday night time to the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena.
“They were doing things with great force and we just did not meet them with the necessary force,” an emotional Heat coach Erik Spoelstra stated. “And then offensively, we simply couldn’t get it going and never make the best performs constantly sufficient. You have to provide them credit score.
“But we’re going to regroup. We all feel a certain way about this, but we’re going to regroup.”
With Butler a noon scratch resulting from neck ache, the Heat basically had been left with their heads on a swivel, outscored 62-36 within the paint.
After shedding by 29 Saturday night time to the Brooklyn Nets at Miami-Dade Arena, the Heat performed out virtually the identical script — dynamic firstly in constructing an early double-double lead after which fizzling to the end from there.
“They played harder,” Heat guard Tyler Herro admitted. “They wanted it more. They beat us tonight. That’s what happens when another team plays harder than you.”
Herro helped compensate for Butler’s absence with 33 factors, with Bam Adebayo including 21 factors and 12 rebounds, the Heat in any other case struggling to create offense towards the size of the Raptors, no different Heat participant scoring greater than seven.
Toronto, in contrast, bought ample scoring, with Pascal Siakam scoring 26, O.G. Anunoby 22 and Scottie Barnes 22. Former Heat ahead Precious Achiuwa added 12 factors and 9 rebounds for Toronto.
The Heat, who’ve misplaced three of their previous 5, full the back-to-back highway set with a Wendesday night time sport towards the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
“It’s another opportunity,” Herro stated. “We’ve got to bounce back.”
Five Degrees of Heat from Tuesday’s sport:
1. Terrible threes: The Heat went up 10 early however trailed 24-23 on the finish of the opening interval and 53-47 at halftime, even with Toronto 1 of 16 on 3-pointers over the primary two durations.
From there, the sport took on the same look to Saturday night time’s 129-100 residence loss to the Nets, when the Heat had been outscored 39-18 within the third interval. This time the Heat went down 19 within the third and trailed 85-67 going into fourth.
The Heat then drew inside 10 with 3:25 to play, however that’s when the rally ended.
“We just did not respond well with their energy,” Spoelstra stated.
2. The playoff race: The loss not solely put a dent within the Heat’s hope of a top-six seed and automated ticket into the best-of-seven first spherical of the playoffs, however now additionally has the Heat with a watch of their rearview mirror.
With the loss, the Heat fell a half-game past the No. 6 Nets, with the Nets proudly owning that head-to-head tiebreaker.
Further, it dropped the Heat three video games behind the No. 5 Knicks. With a victory Wednesday, New York would clinch that tiebreaker.
Tuesday’s victory by the Raptors moved them inside 2 video games of the Heat for the No. 7 seed within the East, clinching the tiebreaker for Toronto, which took the season collection 3-1. The No. 7 seed hosts the No. 8 seed within the opening sport of the play-in spherical, with that winner securing the No. 7 playoff seed.
3. The replacements: In the void of Butler, Herro and Adebayo got the keys to the offense.
It proved to be a blended bag.
Herro stood because the face of the Heat’s 3-point capturing, at 6 of 10 from past the arc, whereas the rest of his teammates went 4 of 23.
“Whatever the team needs from me offensively, that’s what I do offensively,” Herro stated. “But if we want to win games, I’m not too worried about my offense.”
Adebayo, in contrast, by no means might actually acquire his footing, closing at 7 of 18 from the sphere, compensating by going 7 of 8 from the road.
4. The remix: With Butler out, it moved Victor Oladipo from out of the rotation into the beginning combine for simply the second time this season. Oladipo had been held out of the earlier three video games.
Oladipo closed with seven factors, two assists and two rebounds in 22:53.
“It’s obviously something that I’m not used to,” Oladipo stated of the erratic taking part in time. “But I know what it is now and I’m just going to go out there and do my best.”
There practically was one other lineup alteration required, with start line guard Gabe Vincent added to the damage report pregame resulting from again spasms. Vincent’s standing was unsure till pregame warmups had been accomplished.
It wound up because the Heat’s twenty third beginning lineup of the season. The solely different time Oladipo began this season was on Dec. 20 towards the Chicago Bulls in a lineup with Adebayo, Herro, Haywood Highsmith and Max Strus.
Vincent performed simply 18:29.
“He was definitely limited,” Spoelstra stated. “You respect his warrior heart.”
5. The remix, too: Cody Zeller slid again in as backup heart, in his first sport again since breaking his nostril March 11 within the extra time highway loss to the Orlando Magic.
Zeller performed in a masks, getting into firstly of the second interval with 4 factors, three rebounds and two fouls in his preliminary 4:35 stint.
“It’s just kind of uncomfortable,” he stated. “It kind of traps the heat. It gets sweaty and everything else. But the one that I have is very custom, so you can actually see fairly well out of it. It’s as good as it can be.”
He performed 11:28, closing with seven rebounds and 6 factors.
“I felt fine,” he stated. “I did get hit, just on the mask. But it didn’t hurt. It did its job. So it felt good to be back. A little winded that first time around as expected, but it felt good.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com