In a season of unhealthy losses, add yet another to the Miami Heat’s ledger.
A very painful loss.
Both emotionally.
And within the standings.
Recovering from a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit to pressure additional time on a twisting Jimmy Butler 3-pointer on the regulation buzzer, the Heat nonetheless discovered a technique to lose Saturday evening to a staff that entered the evening 27-40.
Perhaps fittingly, it ended with Butler strolling off the courtroom earlier than the 126-114 additional time loss to the Orlando Magic at Amway Center was over, with the Heat assessed a technical foul for under having 4 gamers on the courtroom.
Butler seemingly couldn’t have finished extra on his 38-point evening, matching his regular-season excessive as a member of the Heat.
Butler’s teammates couldn’t do almost sufficient in any other case, no different Heat participant scoring greater than 14.
“Usually you’d have that kind of effort and that kind of performance,” coach Erik Spoelstra stated, “your team, you find a way to figure it out and get a win. I think we all thought once he hit that one to send it into overtime, we felt that we were going to be able to control the overtime from there.”
Instead, the Heat failed to achieve floor within the Eastern Conference playoff race on a day the New York Knicks misplaced and the Brooklyn Nets have been idle.
Nor may they solidify their standing at No. 7, with the No. 8 Atlanta Hawks shedding to the Boston Celtics.
Instead, outrebounded 54-35, simply 11 of 37 on 3-point makes an attempt and unable to make a optimistic out of the returns of Kyle Lowry and Omer Yurtseven.
“We’re expected to win,” Butler stated. “We’re in a combat for our life proper now.
Five Degrees of Heat from Saturday’s sport:
1. Scramble to additional time: The Heat trailed 34-24 on the finish of the primary interval, after committing seven turnovers within the quarter. Then, after shifting forward by six within the second interval, the Heat went into the intermission down 58-55. From there, there was an 81-78 deficit going into the fourth.
It obtained worse from there, with the Magic shifting to a 101-86 lead with 6:03 to play in regulation.
Through all of it, together with a video overview that rescinded a name that may have despatched Butler to the road for 3 free throws, the Heat discovered a technique to pressure additional time.
They discovered that manner when Butler transformed a twisting, leaning, double-pump 3-pointer on the regulation buzzer to tie it 108-108 on the finish of regulation.
“But that don’t matter, because we lost,” Butler stated, downplaying what it took for him to pressure additional time. “All of the making shots in the world doesn’t win this game.”
2. The additional interval: Consecutive 3-pointers from Jalen Suggs and Cole Anthony moved the Magic to a 116-110 lead with 3:25 to play in additional time, with a Wendell Carter Jr. dunk with 3:02 to play placing Orlando up 118-110.
Then, after the Heat obtained a pair of Gabe Vincent free throws for the Heat, the Magic obtained 5 consecutive factors from Carter for a 123-112 lead, absolutely draining the Heat from all of the momentum gained on the finish of regulation.
“They controlled it from there,” Spoelstra stated of the additional interval. “And then it simply turned the floodgates from there.
“At the end of the day we still had an opportunity. Regardless of how we got there.”
3. Leading man: Butler continues to set the tone for the Heat offense, as much as 23 factors when he went to the bench late within the third interval, a juncture when no teammate had greater than 10.
Butler checked out with 2:03 left within the third interval and the Heat down 78-76. He returned with 7:26 to play and the Heat down 93-83.
Spoelstra tried, unsuccessfully, to purchase time for by taking part in Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and Kyle Lowry collectively as Butler sat.
But Butler compensated for the shortcomings of others, with 38 factors going into additional time, unfathomably not getting a shot within the additional interval.
“He’s on an impressive run right now,” Butler stated.
As for Herro, it turned out that meals poisoning took him off the courtroom each early and late.
4. Lowry again: Lowry performed as a reserve in his return, ending his streak of beginning 677 consecutive appearances.
It was his first look since Feb. 2, having missed 15 video games within the interim with knee ache.
Lowry final performed as a reserve within the 2012-13 season, in his first 12 months with Toronto. He had began in all 107 of his earlier Heat regular-season appearances.
The 36-year-old veteran first entered with 6:21 to play within the opening interval, after Butler was known as for his second foul.
Lowry’s frustration later would boil over, known as for a technical foul with 6:33 to play.
But he then got here on to play a key position within the Heat’s fourth-quarter comeback.
He closed with 12 factors on 4-of-8 taking pictures and 4 assists in 36 minutes.
“I scanned a couple of things on the box score,” Spoelstra stated, “and I saw that. I was like, ‘Oh, man, that definitely wasn’t the plan.’ But he’s prepared himself. He’ll take care of himself. He’ll be ready to go.”
Added Butler, “Now we just got to get him back and win.”
5. Zeller out; Yurtseven in: Second-year heart Yurtseven made his season debut with 32.5 seconds left within the first interval after Heat backup heart Cody Zeller took a shot to the face and was compelled to the locker room.
Zeller took stitches beneath his proper eye, with a scan revealing a damaged nostril.
Zeller was defending on the play when Suggs led together with his elbow, with the collision taking each gamers off the courtroom. Suggs then returned early within the second interval.
Yurtseven wound up taking part in seven minutes, lacking his lone shot and ending scoreless, with one rebound.
“The initial part felt different,” Yurtseven stated of his preliminary stint of the sport. “I think every time is going to be exponentially better.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com
