More home misery
Heat run out of steam, surrender 16-point lead in loss to Portland
MIAMI — The Miami Heat ran out of players, out of gas, and into even more home misery Wednesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.
This time, with a decimated perimeter rotation, a 16-point third-quarter lead dissipated into a 102-95 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers at AmericanAirlines Arena that dropped the Heat to 5-7 at home and 13-14 overall.
Unable to maintain their road momentum, the Heat ultimately fell prey to the 28 points of Blazers guard C.J. McCol- lum and the 18 of Portland backcourt partner Damian Lillard.
Even with Wayne Ellington scoring a Heat-career-best 24 points, the Heat lacked enough to close it out, closing with a seven-player rotation.
Both teams were without multiple rotation players.
The Heat played their seventh consecutive game without center Hassan Whiteside, who remains sidelined with a bone bruise on his left knee. Also out was reserve guard Tyler Johnson, who was stricken by a migraine and unable to
make it to the game.
The Heat then lost forward Justise Winslow for the balance of the game in the second period with a strained left knee, after playing only 8:32.
The Blazers were without center Jusuf Nurkic, who missed a third consecutive game due to a sore right ankle, with replacement center Meyers Leonard limited by an illness.
The Heat opened for the first time at home this season with Kelly Olynyk at center and James Johnson at power forward, going for the fourth consecutive game with that power alignment.
A Lillard dunk with 6:48 to play tied it at 86-86. And after a James Johnson jumper put the Heat back ahead, Ed Davis converted a 3-point play to push Portland all the way back from their 16-point deficit to an 89-88 lead, the Blazers’ first lead since 2-0.
That’s when Ellington improved to 7 of 10 on 3-pointers, having missed his previous two long balls, to put the Heat up 91-89 with 5:56 to go.
From there, former Heat first-round pick Shabazz Napier drew the Blazers within one, with a Bam Adebayo alley-oop dunk putting the Heat up 94-91.
A pair of McCollum free throws then drew Portland within one, with a Lillard layup putting the Blazers up 95-94 with 3:16 to go.
Waiters then missed a pair of free throws that could have put the Heat back ahead, but after a defensive stop, the Heat got Goran Dragic to the line with 2:46 left. Dragic made only the second of the two attempts for a 95-95 tie.
After misses on both ends, the ball became lodged on the rim by the Blazers’ basket, leading to a jump ball at center court with 1:52 left and the score still tied, with Portland controlling that tip.
Lillard then swooped in for a three-point play and a 98-95 Portland lead with 1:40 to play, with the Blazers finishing it off from there.
The Heat pushed to their second 16-point lead of the game early in the third period, only to see the Blazers move back within five midway through the quarter. The Heat went into the fourth up 79-70, despite McCollum already being up to 24 points at that stage.
Wayne Ellington improved to 7 of 7 from the field and 6 of 6 on 3-pointers early in the second period, going into the intermission with 21 points, already a season high and one point off his high as a member of the Heat these past two seasons.
After pushing to a 16-point second period lead, the Heat went into the intermission up 60-50, with C.J. McCollum’s 18 first-half points keeping Portland close.
The Heat had to alter their approach early, when Goran Dragic was forced to the bench with his second foul with 8:32 left in the opening period. Already without Tyler Johnson, the Heat turned to James Johnson as their primary facilitator.
James Johnson closed the opening period with four assists, many to Ellington, who shot 5 for 5 on 3-pointers in the first quarter to help the Heat take a 33-21 edge into the second.
Josh Richardson scored 11 in the opening period, matching his high for a quarter this season.
Johnson stood with seven assists, five rebounds and six points at halftime.
The two-game season series concludes March 12 in Portland.
The Blazers swept last season’s two-game series, entering with victories in the previous three matchups.
The Heat entered having won four of the previous five meetings at AmericanAirlines Arena, with the exception being last season’s 115-104 loss, when Lillard scored 49 points, including nine 3-pointers.
It was Heat’s first home game since Dec. 3, with a road game to follow on Friday in Charlotte.
The Heat were coming off Monday’s 107-82 victory in Memphis, with consecutive wins after losing four of their previous five. The Heat had held their previous two opponents, including the Nets on Saturday in Mexico City, to .407 and .389 shooting, respectively.
This is the second game of a five-game trip for the Blazers, a quick turnaround after Monday’s 111-104 road loss to the Warriors, which came despite 39 points from Lillard, the Blazers’ fifth consecutive loss.