Getty Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo and forward Kelly Olynyk celebrate against the Toronto Raptors.
In the end, the Miami Heat just ran out of gas during a 101-81 loss on Friday night. The team had battled back from a 21-point deficit to start the second half then fatigue set in.
Head coach Erik Spoelstra was tinkering with his lineup in the third quarter when he decided to rest Bam Adebayo. The 6-foot-9 star center didn’t want to come out of the game, a conversation that Adebayo promised to bring up to Spoelstra as they figure out their rotation moving forward.
Adebayo finished with 14 points in 34 minutes. He came out of the game with 5:10 left in the third quarter and returned with 2:37 showing on the clock. The Heat went from trailing by two points to down 10 in that span.
“Me and Spo, we’re going to talk about the rotation,” Adebayo told reporters after the game. “We’re going to figure it out. In my opinion, I was tired, but I felt like I could have played.”
.@MiamiHEAT big man Bam Adebayo on trying to battle back but “running out of gas” against the Raptors.
Spoelstra pulled both Adebayo and point guard Goran Dragic in an effort to get them some rest. Kendrick Nunn came in for Dragic and Precious Achiuwa replaced Adebayo. Nunn scored a team-high 22 points.
“I had to take Goran and Bam both out,” Spoelstra said. “I was trying to time it to the timeout. We just didn’t get there.”
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Heat ‘Sloppy’ Against Raptors Pressure
The Heat opened the second half with a 19-5 run that tied the game at 61. But the energy exerted from the comeback cost them on the defensive end. Miami couldn’t make key stops and got outrebounded on the offensive glass 12-4.
Erik Spoelstra says, “Turnovers have been crippling…It’s hard to get a read on how the game’s going, when you’re gifting the team easy baskets.”
The team also turned the ball over 19 times and average a league-worst 18.4 turnovers per game. It was all a recipe for disaster against a red-hot Toronto Raptors squad who shot 46.4% from the field.
“We were sloppy versus their pressure,” Spoelstra told reporters. “But they’re unique, they have great speed and quickness on the perimeter. They can get you out of your offense by a few steps and disrupt the timing. We didn’t handle that pressure early on, a bunch of turnovers, they capitalize on turnovers as well as anybody in the league and before you knew it it was a 10-point deficit.”
Adebayo admitted Heat players had tired legs but no one was using it as an excuse. They scored a season-low 81 points, including just 17 in the fourth quarter.
📊 Final Box
➡️ Nunn 22 Pts, 4 Rebs, 5 Asts & 3 Stls
➡️ Bam 14 Pts, 8 Rebs & 4 Asts
➡️ Dragic 13 Pts, 5 Rebs & 4 Asts
➡️ Robinson 11 Pts
“Having to fight back from 21 is not easy,” Adebayo said. “You expend so much energy coming back and battling back from 21. We ran out of gas but it’s no excuse. We were right there and we should have gotten it done.”
It should be noted that Miami was playing without All-Star forward Jimmy Butler (COVID-19 protocols) for a fifth straight game. They were also down Avery Bradley (COVID-19 protocols), guard Tyler Herro (neck spasms) and center Meyers Leonard (shoulder sprain). Miami visits the Brooklyn Nets tonight at 8 p.m.
Heat Employing Coronavirus-Detecting Dogs
The Heat made national headlines prior to Friday night’s game when the team announced it would be employing “coronavirus-detecting dogs” at American Airlines Arena. Miami plans to have them stationed at the entrance to screen fans when they return home on Jan. 27. The crowd will be limited to around 1,500 fans, all season ticket-holders.
“If you or anyone in your travel party is signaled by a canine, all members of the party will not be permitted to enter the arena,” the Heat said in a statement. “A staff member will notify you of the next steps regarding your ticket purchase.”
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