Uneven ride has included time on Strus-coaster

CLEVELAND — Already this season, Max Strus has made himself invaluable to the Miami Heat, from excelling early in the season in his shift to sixth man, to then seamlessly returning to last season’s role of starter amid the injury absence of Tyler Herro.

The next step is consistency. Because it certainly has been an uneven ride the past two weeks.

Six games ago, he was 4 of 8 on

3-pointers for 16 points against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Five games ago, he was 2 of 11 on

3s for 12 points against the Charlotte Hornets.

Four games ago, he was 8 of 14 on

3s for 31 points against the Hornets. Three games ago, he was 1 of 5 on

3s for five points against the Phoenix Suns.

Then, Wednesday night, the stroke and attack mode were back, with 15 points by halftime in a

20-point performance against the Toronto Raptors.

But Friday against the Washington Wizards, on the second stop of this four-game trip, he went 3 of 14 from beyond the arc.

“I wish I had an answer for you. I’ve got to be better,” Strus said, with the Heat next turning their attention to Sunday night’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. “I don’t think I’m not playing well in the other games. I’m just not scoring. It happens.”

Strus, though, was particularly hard on himself after Friday night’s loss, when he shot 0 for 10 on

3-pointers combined in the second half and overtime.

“I let the guys down,” he said. “I disappeared in the second half and we had a lot of guys step up and play hard, give us great minutes. We should have won the game. I’ll take that one and move on from it.”

Through all of those late struggles against the Wizards, there still was opportunity for redemption off a Heat timeout down one with

2.8 seconds left in overtime. That’s when he found himself open at the top of the 3-point circle for an all-or-nothing 3-pointer.

The shot hit the front iron, the Heat losing 107-106.

“It was a perfect setup,” Strus said, “perfect pass, perfect screen — bad shot.”

Said coach Erik Spoelstra, “It was dead on, just a little bit short.”

Teammate Kyle Lowry, who led the Heat in the loss with a 24-point, 15-assist, 10-rebound triple-double, said Strus was being too hard on himself.

“Max is a very emotional character,” Lowry. “He’s a young guy. He takes pride in his game. But he had a big game, he just missed some shots. You’re playing that many minutes and playing defense and up and down running, our pace was frenetic in the first three quarters. He’ll be fine. He’ll make 10 threes next game or something like that.”

After Spoelstra returned Strus to a reserve role to accommodate Herro, Strus has now started nine games this season, while playing seven as a reserve. He stands with Toronto rookie center Christian Koloko as the NBA’s lone players to start and come off the bench in at least seven games each this season.

“I’ve got to make shots,” Strus said.

Injury report

Jimmy Butler (knee) returned return to South Florida on Saturday for further evaluation, as the team traveled to Cleveland, putting him out for Monday night’s road game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, as well.

Herro (ankle) remains listed as out for Sunday in Cleveland against the Cavaliers.

In addition to Butler and Herro, also out for the Heat are Victor Oladipo (knee), Omer Yurtseven (ankle) and Udonis Haslem (personal reasons),

Bam Adebayo (knee), has who missed the past two games, has been upgraded to questionable, as have Gabe Vincent (knee) and Dewayne Dedmon (illness).

Duncan Robinson (hand) is listed as doubtful.