South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Impressive comeback, but an empty feeling at game’s end
There was a 13-0 surge in the third quarter.
A rally to a 61-61 tie after an early
21-point deficit.
A zone defense that helped torment the Toronto Raptors into
22 turnovers.
But in the end Friday night, as it seemingly has been all season for the Miami Heat, there was not enough in what turned into a 101-81 loss at Amalie Arena in Tampa, snapping the Heat’s two-game winning streak.
Not enough offense, with the 81 points a season low, including just
17 in the fourth quarter.
Not enough quality defense, with the Raptors 17 of 40 on 3-pointers.
Not enough rebounds, with Toronto ending with a 45-32 advantage.
And basically not enough bodies. With Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro and Avery Bradley out, among others, the Heat never led in falling to 6-8.
“We had to expend a great deal of energy just to get back into the game,” coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Forced to utilize rotations both unexpected and previously unseen, Spoelstra mixed and matched with the likes of Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, Moe Harkless and just about every available body to little avail, other than the single, sustained comeback in the third quarter.
The Heat got 22 points from Kendrick Nunn and 13 from Goran Dragic, as well as 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists from Bam Adebayo.
“Having to fight back from 21 is not easy,” Adebayo said. “When you expend so much energy fighting back, trying to battle back from 21, you run out of gas.
“But it’s no excuse. We were right there. We should have got it done.”
The Raptors were led by Norman Powell’s 23 points and OG Anunoby’s 21.
In addition to being without Butler, Bradley and Herro, the Heat also were without Meyers Leonard, due to a shoulder strain, and forward Chris Silva, due to a strained left hip flexor.
Five Degrees of Heat from Friday’s game:
1. Rally killer: So where did the third-quarter rally go south for the Heat?
When they ran out of gas. Spoelstra said the goal was to have either Adebayo or Dragic on the floor when he began his substitutions, but by the time the Raptors went back ahead, he was left with no choice but to pull both.
That came with 5 minutes, 10 seconds left in the third and the Heat down 63-61, with Nunn entering for Dragic and rookie Precious Achiuwa for Adebayo. The Raptors then moved to a 12-point lead before taking a 73-64 advantage into the fourth.
“I had to take Goran and Bam both out,” Spoelstra said. “I was trying to time it to the timeout. We just didn’t get there.”
Adebayo said he could have played on.
“Me and Spo, we’re going to talk about the rotation,” Adebayo said. “We’re going to figure it out. In my opinion, I was tired, but I felt like I could have played.”
2. Boards bludgeoned: The Heat not only were outrebounded by 13 overall but by a 12-4 margin on the offensive glass.
“We just have to have more people helping out on the glass, and not just our bigs,” Spoelstra said. “And we did force them into some misses. We just weren’t able to finish the defense.”
Butler and Herro are two of the Heat’s best wing rebounders.
3. By subtraction: Raptors guard Kyle Lowry was a late scratch, due to an infected toe. So Toronto inserted Powell in the starting lineup and took off from there.
Powell then shot 6 of 6 for 14 points in the first quarter, as the Raptors pushed to their 21-point lead before taking a 37-20 edge into the second period. Powell was up to 19 points by halftime, when he was 8 of
11 from the field.
4. Nunn again: Nunn followed up his 28-point Wednesday performance with 13 first-half points on
5-of-7 shooting, keeping the Heat within striking distance.
Nunn also had three first-half steals, his high for any half over his two-season career. But he said what mattered was the loss.
“They came out and punched us and we responded,” Nunn said. “But they kept the will going and we came up short.”
5. Praise offered: What shouldn’t be lost, Spoelstra said, is the reality that the Raptors have been forced to play their games in Tampa due to Canadian border restrictions during the pandemic.
“What you think about is Toronto, and what they’ve gone through,” he said. “We can’t even imagine that.”