Heat continue road roll at start of trip

With the next two opponents on this four-game western swing a combined 37 games above .500, winning Sunday night’s trip opener against the Portland Trail Blazers practically stood as prerequisite for the Miami Heat.

“Any time we go out west,” center Bam Adebayo said, “we try to get the first one and then build on that.”

So the defense locked in, Jimmy Butler and Adebayo made shots when needed, and the Heat made it nine wins in their last 11 road games with a 107-98 decision at the Moda Center.

Next up, the 37-15 Phoenix Suns on Tuesday and then the 34-19 Denver Nuggets the following night at altitude.

“That’s just the league,” coach Erik Spoelstra said, left with no time for an exhale. “That’s just the league. And if you have real competitors in you locker room, you want these kind of challenges. You want to compete against the best teams and see how you line up.”

With active hands that had the Blazers fumbling and stumbling with uncharacteristic turnovers, and a quality effort from the 3-point line, the Heat moved into fifth place in the Eastern Conference.

Adebayo led the Heat with 22 points, with Butler scoring 20, Kendrick Nunn 15, Tyler Herro 14 and Duncan Robinson 12.

The Heat kept the Blazers’ scoring stars in check, with CJ McCollum scoring 17 and Damian Lillard just 12, as the teams ended their two-game season series with a split.

The Heat closed with eight turnovers to 17 for Portland.

Five Degrees of Heat from Sunday’s game:

1. Going deep: The Heat prioritized their defense against McCollum and Lillard to the degree that they picked up their halfcourt defense practically at midcourt.

Spoelstra said the approach required a degree of ingenuity at Saturday’s practice.

“We practiced at Portland State,” he said. “They didn’t have a 3-point line, so we had to practice our pick-up points a step over halfcourt. That was our only point of comparison. “So your defense ends up being eight, 10 feet out further than it normally is. If you’re not willing to make big-time multiple efforts and have activity, you have no chance when your defensive is that stretched out.”

Lillard closed 3 of 10 from the field. 2. Bam time: Adebayo entered averaging 20.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 6.7 assists in his three previous games against the Blazers, including 29 points on 13-of-16 shooting in this season’s previous meeting.

He then set Thursday’s tone, with 15 first-half points, early in the game extending his career-best streak to 39 consecutive games scoring in double figures. He closed 9 of 14 from the field. But he, too, pointed to the other end of the court.

“Just trying to really hone in our defense,” he said. “I feel like we’re one of those teams that’s how we really win.”

3. Nunn in: Held out of the previous six games after the Heat were bolstered at the trading deadline, Nunn was back in the starting lineup, replacing Victor Oladipo.

With Oladipo undergoing further inspection on his troublesome right knee and not on the trip, Nunn joined Adebayo, Butler, Robinson and Trevor Ariza in the starting lineup.

“It was great to be out there,” Nunn said. “I still put in work, so the step was not slow. I just came right back being like I never left.”

In addition to his 15 points, he had four assists, three rebounds, a steal, a block and only one turnover in his 32:25.

“It just shows you his competitive character,” Spoelstra said. “Not everybody can do that. But this league isn’t easy. And sometimes you’re put in situations where you just have to show some resilience, or it could go the other way.

“And Kendrick’s a tough kid, toughminded, and he really wants to be there for his team. So he’s handled it the right way, really put in a lot of time behind the scenes. And when he was given this opportunity again, he was ready for us.”

4. Turnover time: The Heat played the first half without a turnover, while the Blazers had 12 over the opening 24 minutes, leading to 20 Heat points.

That helped the Heat take a 56-48 lead into the intermission.

It was just the second time in the Heat’s 33 seasons they played a half without a turnover. The Blazers entered leading the league with only 11 turnovers per game.

“It a major key for us every game,” Herro said, “trying to get deflections, get our hands on all the passes, tip balls and just try to get out in transition and run.”

The Heat’s first turnover came 13 seconds into the third quarter, a Norman Powell steal from Butler.

5. Board battle: A night after Enes Kanter set a Blazers franchise record with 30 rebounds, Portland had a 13-3 rebounding edge at the end of the first quarter and 23-13 advantage at halftime.

Although 7-foot Dewayne Dedmon, signed on Thursday, was on the active roster for the first time, Spoelstra went with rookie Precious Achiuwa as his big man off the bench. That also had Nemanja Bjelica out of the mix.

The Blazers closed with a 41-30 edge on the glass, but close enough for the Heat to maintain their lead.

“I feel like every game we try to all gang rebound,” Adebayo said, with Herro leading the Heat with seven, just one fewer than Kanter.