Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Robinson fuels Heat past Cavs
Forward knocks down 9 3-pointers as Heat improve to 10-3
MIAMI — The last time the Miami Heat opened a season at 10-3, Duncan Robinson was a non-scholarship player at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., back in 2013-14.
Now, with the Heat matching that franchise-best start with Wednesday night’s 124-100 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, Robinson is … well … an NBA shooting star.
Loading up with nine 3-pointers, including a franchise-record seven in the second period, Robinson helped the Heat move to 6-0 at AmericanAirlines Arena with a career-high 29 points.
“I found myself open and my teammates put me in good position.” Robinson said.
Robinson, who spent last season with the Heat on a two-way contract after going undrafted out of Michigan in 2018, ended one 3-pointer shy of the franchise record of Mario Chalmers and Brian Shaw. He actually converted a 10th with 14 seconds to play, but it came after the 24-second buzzer.
Blowing past the Cavaliers for the second time in a week, the Heat more than survived a 1-of-13 shooting start from Jimmy Butler, on a night practically no one else on the roster could miss.
Butler, who closed 13 of 13 from the line, finished with 21 points, with Tyler Herro scoring 22 for the Heat.
Up 30 in the third period, the Heat saw the Cavaliers draw as close as 16 in the fourth quarter before putting it away, handing their Cavaliers their 17th consecutive loss at
AmericanAirlines Arena, a skid that predates LeBron James joining the Heat in the 2010 offseason.
Five degrees of Heat from Wednesday’s game:
1. From distance: Included in the Heat’s hot early shooting was a 3-for-3 start on 3-pointers by Robinson, including one that was recorded at 31 feet. He then moved to 4 of 5 with a stop-and-pop 3-pointer in transition midway through
the second period to give the Heat a 24-point lead, later in the quarter converting from what was recorded at 36 feet.
Robinson closed the first half 8 of 10 on 3-pointers, including those seven in the second quarter.
The previous Heat record for 3-pointers in a half was six, most recently two seasons ago by Wayne Ellington. The previous Heat record for 3-pointers in a quarter also was six, by Ellington in that same April 2018 game against the Toronto Raptors.
Robinson’s first point not on a three came with 6:34 left in the third period, on a free throw.
His previous scoring high was 23, earlier this season against the visiting Houston Rockets.
2. For starters: The Heat moved to 7-1 when opening with a lineup of Bam Adebayo, Meyers Leonard, Kendrick Nunn, Butler and Robinson.
This time the group helped the Heat move to an early 15-point lead before the Heat ended the first quarter up 32-22.
“They’re approaching the beginning of games the way we want to: To set the tone for the game, where we’re not digging ourselves out of holes,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Now, it’s not guaranteed every game, but there a mindset, there’s a communication, there’s a sense of urgency with the group that has been a positive thing.”
3. Turn, turn, turn: Spoelstra entered lamenting the Heat’s turnover troubles. There then were eight in the first quarter, including four by Nunn, with the Heat’s first possession of the second period also a turnover.
“That’s something that everybody in this entire building knows that we have to take care of that,” Spoelstra said. “We’ve been intentional about it. I think it’s been trending in the right way, but I don’t want to totally buy into that yet until I see it consistently.”
4. At the half: The Heat led 75-48 at the intermission, tying the franchise record for first-half scoring. They accomplished it on 69-percent shooting from the field, even with 13 first-half turnovers.
“We’re actually simplifying things, just to get to our strength zones a little bit more often,” Spoelstra said. “Trying to have a little bit more clarity with our spacing, just to get on the same sheet of music. Hopefully that will keep our turnovers in a reasonable level.”
5. To the bench: Cavaliers coach John Beilein benched the team’s top two picks in the past two drafts at the start of the second half, with Collin Sexton and Darius Garland replaced by Matthew Dellavedova and Kevin Porter Jr.
Sexton, taken at No. 8 in 2018 out of Alabama, shot 1 of 6 in the first half. Garland, taken at No. 5 out of Vanderbilt in June, was 1 of 7 over the first two periods.