Butler stands tall in victory

Two weeks ago the Miami Heat were stumbling to a 16-point road defeat against the Utah Jazz at the start of a threegame losing streak.

Friday night at AmericanAirlines Arena the Heat were going toe to toe with the league-best Jazz in a 124-116 victory that extended their winning streak to five and made it nine victories in their last 12 games.

Moving into high-octane mode on offense, an effort that included a 39-point third quarter, the Heat got the best of their best to improve to 16-17 and drop the Jazz to 26-7.

Jimmy Butler led the way, with a season-high 33 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, with Bam Adebayo filling the box score to the tune of 19 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.

“I think we’re moving in the right direction, [but] we can still be better,” Butler said. “That’s what I love about it.”

There also were 26 points from Goran Dragic, 15 from Duncan Robinson and 12 from Kendrick Nunn, helping offset 30 from Utah’s Donovan Mitchell and 15 points and 12 rebounds from Jazz center Rudy Gobert.

“We are growing,” Dragic said. “We are growing as a team.”

It was, in the end, validation of the Heat’s two-week growth chart.

“It’s not a statement,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We’ve been grinding for six weeks trying to get into a more consistent level.”

Or, as Mitchell said, “They did a better job adjusting than we did from the first game.”

The victory moved the Heat into fifth place in the Eastern Conference.

Five Degrees of Heat from Friday’s game:

The Heat took a 96-94 lead into the fourth quarter, after going up nine at one point in the third, then moved to a 116-108 lead with 4 minutes, 5 seconds left on a Butler jumper.

But the Jazz fought back within 116-115 to play on a pair of Gobert free throws with 2:30 left. A pair of Butler free throws followed with 2:17 to play to make it 118-115, but Mitchell worked his way to the line with 1:28, making one of two free throws to draw Utah within 118-116.

Turnovers by both teams ensued before Butler rimmed in a 7-foot floater for a 120-116 Heat lead with 33 seconds to go.

Then with 25.7 left, Bojan Bogdanovic was off with a 3-pointer, with Butler securing his 10th rebound.

Butler was up to 14 points, six rebounds and five assists by the intermission and kept on going.

Butler frequently hunted defensive mismatches against Bogdanovic, who was forced to the bench with his fourth foul early in the third quarter and eventually fouled out.

“We need to focus on being the best version of

who we are,” Butler said.

Adebayo was in the starting lineup after previously being listed as questionable due to left knee tendinosis.

The only two games missed by Adebayo this season remain a pair of road losses to the Philadelphia 76ers, while in the NBA’s pandemic protocols, due to contact tracing.

“Bam is an absolute throwback, a warrior,” Spoelstra said. “He wants to be out there and compete and be there for his team.”

Dragic sparked the Heat second unit in his second game back after missing nine due to an ankle sprain.

“I just feel good, finally got the legs under me,” Dragic said. “The shot was falling. Teammates put me in great position.”

His offense compensated for the absence of Tyler Herro, who missed his third consecutive game with a hip contusion.

It was Dragic’s 22nd 20-point game as a Heat reserve, tying Kevin Edwards for the franchise all-time lead.

KZ Okpala got spot duty twice in the first half and once in the third quarter, at stages when first-round pick Precious Achiuwa otherwise had seen action. Achiuwa had appeared in every game before Friday.

“Just felt we needed a little bit more perimeter defense,” Spoelstra said. “I thought KZ had some quality minutes.”