Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Give and take leaving Heat at a net deficit
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.