Butler triple-double gets wasted in ‘no excuse’ loss
It hardly sounds like an ultimate NBA challenge: attempt to defeat a Los Angeles Clippers team playing in the absence of Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Patrick Beverley.
Trouble was, the Miami Heat already failed in the situation at home on Jan. 28, when those three were out.
Monday night, the Clippers were missing the same trio at Staples Center and the Heat again were unable to find a solution, this time falling 125-118 to drop to 1-2 at the start of their sevengame trip.
“There’s no excuse why we lost tonight,” guard Tyler Herro said.
With Marcus Morris Sr. playing as if he was the Clippers’ leading man, scoring 26 of his season-high 32 points in the first half, the Heat found themselves at a deficit most of the night, ultimately buried late by Clippers 3-pointers.
“We just did not do things well enough, consistently enough,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Jimmy Butler led the Heat with a triple-double, with a season-high 30 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. He was supported by 27 points and 12 rebounds from Bam Adebayo and 27 points from Herro.
But in the end those numbers and the Heat’s 70 paint points weren’t enough, with too many defensive lapses taking their toll.
The Clippers closed at 55.3% from the field and 15 of 32 on 3-pointers.
“I’m not going to say we let one get away,” Butler said. “We didn’t deserve to win.”
Five Degrees of Heat from Monday’s game:
1. Closing time: The Clippers put together an 8-0 run to move to a 100-93 lead with 9 minutes, 1 second to play. The Heat responded with a 6-0 run of their own to close within 100-99, only to see the Clippers push back to a 112-101 lead with 5:02 to play on Lou Williams floater.
“We had a hard time containing Lou Williams, regardless of what the coverage was,” Spoelstra said, with Williams closing with 18 points and 10 assists.
The Heat later closed within 117-111 on an Adebayo layup with 1:52 to play, but that’s when Morris stepped up with a jumper to provide the Clippers with breathing room.
“We didn’t do enough multiple efforts to get that win,” Adebayo said.
Especially at the moments that mattered most.
“We had some breakdowns,” Spoelstra said. “They capitalized on the important ones at swing moments of the game, whether it was offensive rebounds or dribble penetration or open shooters.”
2. Another one: Having flirted with triple-doubles for a week, Butler got his second of the trip, having also done it during the Heat’s victory in Houston at the start of the trip.
He closed 10 of 19 from the field and 10 of 10 from the line, with two steals and just one turnover.
Butler found himself on pace at the intermission, with 16 points, five rebounds and five assists. He was up to 24 points, eight assists and seven rebounds going into the fourth quarter.
In the end, it felt hollow, with one step forward and two steps back on the trip.
“It’s just who we are right now,” Butler said. “It’s not a good thing. No excuses.
“We’ve got to fix it. We’re capable. We’re still a very, very, very good team. We just don’t play as it sometimes or look it sometimes.”
3. Unstoppable: Morris was 9 of 11 from the field, 6 of 7 on 3-pointers in the first half, including a 3-pointer just before the second-quarter buzzer that put the Clippers up 67-62 at the intermission.
The 26 points were the most scored by Morris in any half in his career.
As a means of comparison, the Heat closed the first half 5 of 16 on 3-pointers.
Included in Morris’ first half was his first dunk of the season.
4. Half-full: When it came to his team’s offensive execution, Spoelstra had little lament, even with the Heat closing 8 of 36 from beyond the arc.
“We had some clean looks,” he said. “So that’s what ultimately want: your offense just generating opens looks.
“We had 70 in the paint, and open 3s from that. We didn’t knock down a high percentage of our 3s, but a good number of them were open.
“And that’s what you can control: playing to your strength, being assertive, taking care of the ball and getting the shots you want. And for the most part, against good defense, I think we were able to do that.”
5. Less than whole: In addition to Leonard and George being out for the Clippers due to injuries and Beverley given the second night of the Clippers’ backto-back off, Nicolas Batum was ruled out after arriving with a migraine.
It left the Clippers with a starting five that had not played together previously.
Spoelstra said the Heat also were well-versed in going shorthanded, playing Monday night again in the absences of Goran Dragic and Avery Bradley, among others.
“They’ve dealt with it; we’ve dealt with it as well,” Spoelstra said.