Heat lose their way on defense

This was the ultimate definition of defensive insanity.

Over and over the Miami Heat would rotate to make sure Ja Morant wouldn’t get on a scoring binge, cover the paint to keep Jonas Valanciunas from inflicting further damage after his 15-point first quarter ... as, all the while, Memphis Grizzlies players would spot up in the corners to drain open 3-pointers.

The same thing, over and over. And rarely a different result, with the Grizzlies snapping the Heat’s four-game winning streak with a 124-112 decision Tuesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.

“They hurt us pretty much everywhere,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We gave up over 120. They had 50 in the paint. Obviously, they hit 17 threes. There’s not a whole lot we did well defensively. And we paid the price for it.”

Particularly in those corners, with the Grizzlies 11 of 15 on corner 3-pointers.

With Dillon Brooks dominating the third quarter, the Grizzlies proved offensively overwhelming on a night brook Brooks closed with 28 points, Valanciunas 20 and Kyle Anderson 19.

Even with Jimmy Butler scoring 28, Tyler Herro 19 and Ba mA de ba yo adding 18 points ,10 rebounds and 10 assists in his fifth career triple-double, this was all about the defensive end for the Heat, or more to the point, those short corners beyond the 3-point line.

“Bad rotations, lack of communication,” Adebayo said. “We were always a step behind, just defensive lapses.”

The Grizzlies closed 17 of 41 on 3-pointers, with Morant finishing with 10 points.

“Learn from it, use it as motivation,” Heat guard Duncan Robinson said, after scoring 14. “We’ve got to band together.”