Heat presses Nets again but fades in the fourth
Takeaways from the Heat’s loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Monday. The Heat received another strong performance from Bam Adebayo.
The Heat’s four-game trip ended with a third consecutive loss, but with some encouraging things to build on.
How is that possible? Sometimes the process says more than the result, especially when a team is without multiple key contributors.
The Heat was without Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Avery Bradley and three other players. Meanwhile the Brooklyn Nets had its all-world trio of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving on the court.
But the shorthanded Heat (6-10) still kept it very competitive through the first three quarters before ultimately falling to the Nets 98-85 on Monday at Barclays Center. Miami finished its four-game trip with a 1-3 record.
The Heat entered the fourth quarter with a one-point lead, but seemed to wilt in the final period of the trip. Brooklyn (11-8) outscored Miami 28-14 in the fourth quarter.
Monday’s result came two nights after the undermanned Heat came close to upsetting the Nets in a 128-124 loss that came down to the final seconds on Saturday.
Maybe the most encouraging development for the Heat is the fact that there were times center Bam Adebayo looked like the best player on a court that also featured Durant, Harden and Irving.
Adebayo finished Monday’s loss with 26 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and one block in 35 minutes.
The Heat now returns to Miami to begin a six-game homestand on Wednesday against the Denver
Nuggets.
Here are four takeaways from the Heat’s loss to the Nets:
Even as Monday’s loss dropped Miami to 6-10 this season, there is good news for the shorthanded Heat: It looks like help is finally on the way.
Heat All-Star wing Jimmy Butler and veteran guard Avery Bradley are expected to rejoin the team this week. Butler and Bradley both missed their eighth consecutive game on Monday because of the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
Bradley, who is an important part of Miami’s bench rotation, said during a recent appearance on Chris Haynes’ Yahoo Sports podcast that he hopes to return for Wednesday’s game against the Nuggets at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Bradley also disclosed on the “Posted Up” podcast that he has been unavailable for the past two weeks because he tested positive for COVID-19.
Bradley noted that he recently resumed workouts, meaning he has cleared the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
As for Butler, there was optimism that Butler would clear the NBA’s health and safety protocols on Monday to resume basketball activity, according to a league source. Butler is a few days behind Bradley when it comes to clearing protocols.
The timetable for Butler’s return to game action will depend on his conditioning after two weeks away from the court. The Heat’s next six games come at home: Wednesday vs. Nuggets, Thursday vs. Los Angeles Clippers, Saturday vs. Sacramento Kings, Monday vs. Charlotte Hornets, Feb. 3 vs. Washington Wizards and Feb. 5 vs. Wizards.
The Heat has posted a 2-6 record in its last eight games, which Butler and Bradley were unavailable for because of protocols.
Miami was also without forward Moe Harkless (left thigh contusion), guard Tyler Herro (neck spasms), and centers Meyers Leonard (left shoulder strain) and Chris Silva (left hip flexor strain) on Monday against the Nets.
How did Adebayo follow up his career-high 41-point performance? With another big night.
Without two of the
Heat’s top scorers in Butler and Herro, Adebayo again came out with an aggressive approach to finish Monday’s loss with 26 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the field, 10 rebounds, five assists and one block.
Similar to his 41-point masterpiece in Saturday’s loss to the Nets, Adebayo scored in a variety of ways. He shot 6 of 14 on non-rim shots, including a threepoint bank at the third quarter buzzer.
He even hit a three-point shot before the halftime buzzer to cap a 21-point first half, his career high scoring output in any half.
The midrange jumper continues to be a gamechanging revelation, as Adebayo entered Monday shooting 50 of 95 (52.6 percent) on non-rim shots this season. He shot 37.4 percent on those shots last regular season.
Both teams struggled to make threes on Monday, but Heat guard Goran Dragic was hot.
Dragic finished with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 6-of-9 shooting on threes.
The rest of the Heat’s roster combined to shoot 5 of 34 from three-point range. Miami shot 25.6 percent from deep as a team.
Meanwhile, the Nets shot 40 from the field and 11 of 38 (28.9 percent) on threes.
With the Heat missing six players, second-year forward KZ Okpala made the third NBA start of his NBA career.
Okpala, 21, started alongside Goran Dragic, Duncan Robinson, Kelly Olynyk and Adebayo. It marked the second time the Heat has used that lineup to start a game this season, as it also was on the court to begin Miami’s win over the Detroit Pistons on Jan. 18.
This five-man combination outscored the Nets
13-8 before the Heat made its first substitution of the contest, pushing the Heat to win the first quarter 21-15. It marked just the second time in the past eight games that Miami has had a lead after the first quarter.
Okpala finished with just three points on 1-of-3 shooting from deep, one rebound and one assist in 21 minutes. He had some impressive moments on the defensive end, as he was tasked with defending
Harden to begin the game and found himself on Durant and Irving
Miami’s bench rotation on Monday included Gabe Vincent, Kendrick Nunn, Andre Iguodala and Precious Achiuwa. Max Strus entered in the final seconds with the Nets already in control.
Miami entered Monday averaging the second-most turnovers in the NBA at
17.7 per game and with the league’s highest turnover rate (percentage of plays that end with a team turnover) at 17.3 percent.
In Monday’s loss, the Heat took a step in the right direction with only 14 turnovers.
When it comes to rebounding, the Nets outrebounded the Heat 4945. But Miami grabbed eight offensive rebounds to six for the Nets.