Altered schedule leaving team with splitting headache

As the Miami Heat moved into their latest two-game, baseball-style series, an argument could be made they arrived to Brooklyn with a splitting headache.

Four times this season the Heat have played the same opponent in consecutive games on the same floor, a product of the pandemic-altered NBA schedule. Three times they have emerged with a split, as the team losing the first game came out with greater fire for the rematch.

The latest example came in Friday night’s 101-81 loss to the Toronto Raptors in Tampa, a game after defeating the Raptors 111-102 on Wednesday night at Amalie Arena.

“It’s a different format — it definitely feels different,” guard Goran Dragic said, with the Heat moving on to a similar Saturday-Monday set against the Nets at Barclays Center.

“If you don’t win the first game, then the second game they’re going to make adjustments, and they’re going to play harder. And we have to have that mentality too.

“Even if you won the first game, you should come out and compete even stronger.”

Of the Heat’s four baseball-style sets completed so far, the only sweep came when they lost consecutive games to the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center while playing with the NBA minimum of eight players in uniform. Otherwise, it’s gone like this: Lose to the Milwaukee Bucks on Dec. 29 at AmericanAirlines Arena; defeat the Bucks on Dec. 30 at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Lose to the Detroit Pistons on Jan. 16 at AmericanAirlines Arena; defeat the Pistons on Jan. 18 at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Defeat the Raptors on Wednesday night; lose to the Raptors on Friday night.

“I’m not sure,” coach Erik Spoelstra said when asked about the pattern. “I think probably anybody

The Heat are working through the sameness of this season. Saturday’s Miami Heat game against the Brooklyn Nets did not end in time for this edition.