Butler scores 33 in meltdown
The desperation at the close of Saturday night’s victory over the Chicago Bulls was just the start for the Miami Heat.
It got worse Monday.
Two nights after almost blowing a 24-point lead to the Bulls in a victory at AmericanAirlines Arena, the Heat this time were finished at the finish by Chicago, falling 110-102 on a night that gains were there for the taking in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Even with Jimmy Butler closing with 33 points, Bam Adebayo 23 and Trevor Ariza 18, the Heat could not overcome 7-of-36 3-point shooting, a 51-34 rebounding deficit and the injury absences of Kendrick Nunn and Tyler Herro.
“They were pretty prepared for what we do,” Ariza said of the Bulls’ bounce-back win.
So even with the New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks falling earlier in the night, the Heat, now with just 10 games remaining in their regular season, continued on what appears to be a path to the newly installed play-in round, where one or two losses could end their season before the official start of the NBA postseason.
“There’s still time,” Butler said. “That’s the best part about it — better late than never. Hopefully, we can start playing basketball at the right time.
“That’s what we’re going to say. That’s what we’re going to use.”
The loss prevented Heat coach Erik Spoelstra from recording his 600th regular-season victory, a milestone now pushed off at least until Wednesday night’s home game against the San Antonio Spurs.
Five Degrees of Heat from Monday’s game:
1. Closing time: The Heat took an 82-76 lead into the fourth quarter, which started with Butler on the bench, and then moved to a seven-point lead with 8 minutes, 14 seconds to play. But with the Bulls making 3-pointers as the Heat missed, Chicago moved to a 99-97 lead with 4:38 left, forcing a timeout by Spoelstra.
The Bulls then extended their lead to 104-99 on a Lauri Markkanen
3-pointer with 2:53 to play before an Ariza 3-pointer with 2:13 got the Heat within 104-102.
Then after the Bulls again went up four, Butler came up with a steal, only to miss the transition layup on the other end. That left the Heat down 106-102 and forced them to foul with 31.8 seconds left.
The Bulls put it away from there.
“I thought we really competed [but] weren’t able to get some key stops at key moments on a rough shooting nights,” Spoelstra said. “These are the kind of wins that could be gratifying if you find a way to get over the top. But we just could not string together enough stops in a row.”
2. Butler focused: To put into perspective the heavy lifting required of Butler by the shorthanded Heat, consider that before he checked out late in the third period with 31 points, he was surrounded by a lineup of Ariza, Dewayne Dedmon, Max Strus and Gabe Vincent.
Butler scored 15 points in the third, at that stage 10 of 15 from the field and 11 of 11 from the line.
But the fatigue seemingly took its toll. He shot 1 of 6 in the fourth quarter, hardly his typical closer self.
“We had guys out tonight, so it’s
a heavier workload for Jimmy and Bam for sure,” Spoelstra said.
But the coach said the failings transcended fatigue.
“Honestly, we didn’t guard the entire game,” he said. “We just outscored them for a little bit. That’s who we’ve been all year, honestly.”
3. Streak ends: Duncan Robinson was ruled out for the night in the fourth quarter due to illness.
That ended Robinson’s franchise-record streak of 25 consecutive games with multiple 3-pointers.
He closed 1 of 7 from beyond the arc, a game after shooting 7 of 15 on 3-pointers in Saturday’s victory over the Bulls.
The last time Robinson had made fewer than two 3-pointers was March 4 in New Orleans, when he was 1 of 3 from beyond the arc.
Robinson is the lone Heat player not to miss a game this season.
“Duncan had some great looks, but [he] wasn’t even going to go out there at the beginning,” Spoelstra said. “He was throwing up before the game.
“Once he was out there, he said he was fine and we rolled with it.” 4. Rotation remix: With Nunn and Herro sidelined, and with
Andre Iguodala given the night off, Spoelstra had to get creative with his rotation.
That included first-quarter minutes for Vincent, Strus and KZ Okpala.
Then came another twist in the second period, after the Bulls loaded up with size against Ariza, with S po el st ra giving Nemanja Bjelica his first minutes in six games, playing him in tandem with Adebayo.
“We’re down guys [and] he’s kept himself ready,” Spoelstra said of Bjelica. “He’s a weapon, for sure.”
5. Still a pest: The uniform changed at the March 25 NBA trade deadline, but the annoyance continues, with Nikola Vucevic closing with a team-high 24 points for the Bulls, along with 11 rebounds.
It was another reminder of all the damage Vucevic had inflicted against the Heat over the years while with the Orlando Magic.
“He has definitely developed,” Spoelstra said. “When he first got to Orlando to the player that he has been this year, he has increased his range, his post-up poise and pace versus a lot of different coverages.
“He is unique and he is very skilled. He has really developed as a passer. All of those things challenge your defense.”