Heat still unbeaten at home
MIAMI — The Miami Heat again played with fire Tuesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.
They still have yet to get burned. Going to overtime at home for the second consecutive game against an opponent with a losing record, the Heat got individual statistical brilliance across the board to hold off the Atlanta Hawks, 135-121, at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Just as they did Sunday night against the Chicago Bulls, the Heat found a way, now 11-0 at home, extending their franchise record to open a season.
“The guys’ confidence as a unit is growing,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra understated.
Or, as Jimmy Butler understated of the 18-6 Heat, “I think we’re coming together nicely.”
As ugly as it got at times in regulation, including blowing an early 15-point lead and falling behind by eight in the fourth quarter, it ended with an overtime that opened with the crescendo of a Duncan Robinson 3-pointer, a Bam Adebayo dunk, a Derrick Jones Jr. alley-oop finish, an Adebayo show-and-go 3-point play and a Robinson 3-pointer.
“That’s how we should have been playing the whole game,” Adebayo said.
It was a night of the extraordinary for the Heat.
For Adebayo, a career-high 11 assists as part of his first career triple-double, one that also included 30 points and 11 rebounds.
For Butler, a career-high 18 rebounds and the 3-pointer that closed the scoring in regulation, as part of a triple-double of his own, with 20 points and 10 assists. It was the first time in the franchise’s 32 seasons the Heat had two triple-doubles in the same game.
For rookie guard Kendrick Nunn, a career-high 36 points, one off the franchise rookie scoring record of Sherman Douglas in 1990.
And for Robinson, a career-high 34 points built on a career-high 10 3-pointers.
“I think everybody in this locker room has the confidence that they’re the best player on the floor,” Butler said.
The Heat closed out the scoring at, 117-117, in regulation on Butler’s 3-pointer with 29.8 seconds left in regulation. Missed jumpers by Atlanta’s DeAndre Hunter and Butler followed, as the fourth quarter expired.
From there, the Heat’s overtime insanity ensued.
Five degrees of Heat from Tuesday’s game: 1. Rotating contributions: The Heat entered with seven players scoring in double figures and Tuesday again was a testament to such a diversified roster.
A game after Tyler Herro won it with his shooting Sunday in overtime against the Bulls, this time it was Nunn and Robinson sparking the offense. This time Herro closed scoreless on 0-for-6 shooting. It didn’t matter.
Robinson helped set an early tone by opening 4 of 4 on 3-ponters; Nunn then had his moments against Trae Young, the only NCAA Division I player to finish ahead of him in 2017-18, when Nunn was at Oakland University and Young at Oklahoma.
2. Bam can: Tuesday was another of those games that shows the depth of Adebayo’s contributions. In a starting lineup that lacks a true point guard, Adebayo again played as the fulcrum at the top of the circle.
There also was an end-to-end driving layup at the close of the second period to give the Heat a two-point halftime lead. “He puts in the time,” Spoelstra said. Adebayo also was called upon to help provide defensive traps in the second half once Young began to heat up.
3. Still short: The Heat remained without Goran Dragic for a fifth consecutive game, due to a strained right groin, and without Justise Winslow for a third consecutive game, due to a lower-back strain.
“He’s working to get back,” Spoelstra said of Winslow. “He just doesn’t feel right, right now. So he’s doing a lot of work in training room and the weight room.”
The Heat had listed Adebayo (groin) and Derrick Jones Jr. (illness) on their injury report earlier Tuesday, before both were cleared to play. the
4. No Johnson, Waiters: Then it was announced during the second quarter that James Johnson was not in the building and was ill, despite not being on the Heat injury report at any point and being on the active roster, with no pregame report of illness.
That left both Waiters and Johnson away from the team, with Waiters also out due to an illness that Heat had on their injury report starting on Monday. Waiters has not played this season; Johnson has not played since Nov. 27.
5. Vince turns 1,500: Tuesday marked the 1,500th regular-season appearance for the Hawks’ Vince Carter. The only other players to appear in that many were Robert Parish (1,611), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1,560), Dirk Nowitzki (1,522) and John Stockton (1,504).
Carter, 42, is in his 22nd season. “I’ve gotten to know him over the years just because you’re around all the time,” Spoelstra said. “I don’t get to know a lot of people, but I feel like I’ve gotten to know him. He’s a first-class human being, a great pro, somebody that should be celebrated for his career, for sure.”
Carter closed with 12 four 3-pointers. points, converting