Give and take leaving Heat at a net deficit
The Heat, who rank 26th in the NBA in
MIAMI — On a night when the ultimate takeaway should have been the takeaways, the Miami Heat instead were left to explain moments and a game that got away.
To explain: The Heat tied the franchise record with 20 steals in Tuesday night’s 115-113 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
But they also committed 20 turnovers, a seasonlong issue that has them 26th in the 30-team NBA in that category.
“It’s one of the top-ofthe-list things that have been hurting us and preventing us from having a better record,” coach Erik Spoelstra said of the ongoing issue, with the Heat turning their attention to Friday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans, the second game on this fourgame homestand.
“We’ve addressed it. We’ve worked on it. It’s just something that’s going to have to get better.”
The Heat are attempting to deal with the issue in the absence of starting point guard Goran Dragic, who has missed the past five games with a swollen right knee, with the Heat not carrying a backup point guard.
The Heat are yielding 19.5 points per game off turnovers, third worst in the league, ahead of only conference cellar dwellers Atlanta and Phoenix.
“Our turnovers are clearly an issue,” Spoelstra said, “but the pick-sixes, we’ve got to be top of the league in picks that lead to a layup or dunk on the other end.”
Guard Dwyane Wade said part of the problem is that when playing from behind the inclination is to go for the big play.
“Obviously, turnovers are part of the game, especially the aggressive turnovers,” he said. “You know we were trying to make a comeback. If you’re down, those things hurt. But it’s a part of the game, as well. We definitely want to limit our turnovers. But I think we didn’t have that many turnovers in the Toronto game and it didn’t result to a win. So we’re definitely not there.”
Indeed, the Heat committed a season-low seven turnovers in Sunday’s loss to the Raptors, proving the 7-13 record has been built on more than miscues.
Tuesday, though, could have been a game built on theft — if the Heat didn’t keep giving the ball back.
Tuesday’s 20 steals were the most by the Heat since they had 20 against the Philadelphia 76ers on Feb. 5, 1994.
Forward Josh Richardson tied his career high with five steals against Atlanta, including four in the fourth quarter, and guard Wayne Ellington established a career high with five steals.
Richardson and Ellington combined to become just the second pair in the franchise’s 31 seasons to each record at least five steals in a game. The only other time it has been accomplished was Nov. 5, 2008 against the 76ers, when Mario Chalmers had nine and Wade had five.
For his part, Ellington, with his five 3-pointers, became the fourth player in franchise history with at least five steals and five 3-pointers in a game, the first since Walt Williams at Milwaukee on March 22, 1996 (six threes, five steals). It was also accomplished by Kevin Gamble at New Jersey on Dec. 20, 1995 (five threes, five steals) and by Glen Rice vs. New Jersey on Dec. 2, 1994 (five threes and five steals).
Home woes: The Heat’s six-game home losing streak is their longest at AmericanAirlines Arena since they lost seven straight March 5 to March 21 in 2008, the season they finished 15-67 and wound up with Michael Beasley as the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft.
With his nine fourthquarter points Tuesday, Richardson now leads the Heat with 124 this season. His 17 fourth-quarter 3-pointers trail only the 24 of Charlotte Hornets guard Kemba Walker.
Wade has blocked a shot in five consecutive games, further building on his record for most career blocks by an NBA guard, currently at 855.
James Johnson reached 2,000 career rebounds Tuesday, with his 615 with the Heat his high among his five NBA stops.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson is retiring. Johnson, 61, made the surprising announcement after meeting with his players. He coached the Yellow Jackets for 11 seasons, compiling a career record of 82-59 . ... Purdue coach Jeff Brohm told athletic director Mike Bobinski he intends to keep his job with the Boilermakers rather than go to his alma mater, Louisville . ... Bowling Green hired Boston College offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler as its head coach . ... Texas State hired West Virginia offensive coordinator Jake Spavital as its head coach . ... Arkansas State is headed to the Dec. 29 Arizona Bowl as the Sun Belt Conference’s representative.
OLYMPICS: A delegation from the World Anti-Doping Agency visited the Moscow laboratory at the center of Russia’s doping coverups, seeking data that could lead to more bans for the country’s top athletes. Russia must provide computer data from the lab before Dec. 31 or risk having its national anti-doping agency suspended again, two months after its controversial reinstatement. With time running out, talks between WADA and Russian authorities failed to reach a deal on how to hand over the data. WADA has found extensive evidence that Russia routinely falsified drug-testing results, including at the Sochi Olympics, but must now hope authorities provide genuine data from past years.
SOCCER: As four teams advanced to the Champions League knockout round, last season’s runner-up Liverpool edged closer to an early exit. A 2-1 loss at Paris SaintGermain in the night’s marquee match was Liverpool’s fifth straight away defeat in the competition and sparked wild celebrations in Parc des Princes. Liverpool fell to third place in Group C. Still, a two-goal win over current group leader Napoli — which got two goals from Dries Mertens in beating Red Star Belgrade 3-1 — in two weeks’ time will send coach Juergen Klopp’s team into the Round of 16 . ... Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund ensured they will advance from Group A, and Porto won Group D with a game to spare with Schalke advancing as runner-up. Barcelona began the week as the only team to qualify after four rounds of games, and was lifted by Lionel Messi’s sixth goal of the campaign to win 2-1 at PSV Eindhoven. Tottenham got an 80th-minute goal from substitute Christian Eriksen to beat Inter Milan 1-0 at Wembley Stadium and avoid elimination . ... David Villa, one of the biggest stars in Major League Soccer, is leaving New York City FC. The 36year-old Spanish forward spent four seasons with the team as its first captain . ... FIFA says one of its ethics committee judges resigned after he was investigated for alleged corruption in Malaysia. Sundra Rajoo was appointed one year ago after passing an integrity check.