Heat hope Mexico trip will provide form

MAYBE this trip south of the border is the start of something for the Miami Heat.

They have lost four of their last five games and for the last few days the players and coaching staff have been exploring Mexico City and tasting local cuisine.

A 117-105 loss at San Antonio on Thursday left the team with an 11-13 record. Miami travelled to Mexico ahead of today’s game against the Brooklyn Nets to spend time together.

Coach Erik Spoelstra thinks such trips bring his players closer. Last year, the Heat spent five day in the Bahamas before the season.

‘‘I think it helps,’’ he said. ‘‘I have no statistics or analytics than can substantiate that. But I like it when your team gets to experience something different than a normal road trip because you get to come down here and spend a lot of time sightseeing on the bus together, we had a team meal yesterday and tonight and NBA event.’’

In Mexico City, the team had a video session yesterday. The players and coaches then took the day off. Spoelstra said he went to as many restaurants as possible while guard Goran Dragic said he went looking for some guacamole.

‘‘When you go on one of these trips, you don’t want to sit in your hotel room,’’ Spoelstra said. ‘‘You want to get out there and see as much as you can.’’

The rest of the players also tried the local food and went shopping and sightseeing near the team’s hotel in Polanco, an upscale part of the city.

Kelly Olynyk, who’s visiting the city for the fourth time, says it’s good to be together and away from all the ‘‘sounds and the distractions’’ of home.

‘‘Hopefully we can translate that to the game and we can get back on track and keep on rolling,’’ he said.

Olynyk, a Canadian centre,