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The Miami Heat‘s hot streak came to an abrupt halt on Thursday night, falling to the Boston Celtics 97-78 at the FTX Arnea. Adding insult to injury, Heat star Kyle Lowry hopped off the court in the third quarter and never returned.
Lowry fell to the ground after his teammate, sharpshooter Duncan Robinson crashed into the team’s starting point guard attempting to draw a charge, causing his left ankle to roll at an awkward angle.
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This is the second time this season that Lowry, 35, has injured his ankle. During the Heat’s season opener, there was a heart-stopping moment when he Kyle Lowry rolled on his right ankle and hopped off the court toward the locker room.
Thankfully, Lowry was able to return to the game and the Heat went on to crush the Milwaukee Bucks 137-95. Lowry, however, was ruled out during the Heat’s next tilt against the Indiana Pacers, and his absence did not go unnoticed.
Miami wasn’t able to keep pace without their six-time All-Star and lost 102-91 in overtime. Fingers crossed Lowry won’t have to miss much time following Thursday night’s injury.
Spoelstra Said They Will Have an Update on Lowry’s Injury on Friday
During the postgame press conference, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra didn’t have much of an update on Lowry’s injury. “We’ll find out tomorrow,” Coach Spo said, per Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang.
The biggest concern when it comes to Lowry’s injury is the fact that Miami doesn’t have a solid back-up for their 35-year-old point guard. During the Pacers game, which before Thursday night’s matchup was the team’s only loss, the Heat used former two-way player Gabe Vincent to fill for Lowry, but he was benched during the game’s final 12 minutes.
According to Heat center Bam Adebayo, there’s no scheme in place if Lowry is out for an extended period of time.
“I mean usually you don’t always have Plan B when somebody is out, especially somebody like Kyle, especially somebody with the starting unit,” Adebayo said, per Sun Sentinel‘s Ira Winderman. “Now you have to bring somebody in and pick up that cohesiveness, that tempo with the starting unit.”
Just before the season started, Heat president Pat Riley said he’d be open to adding a 15th player, even if it meant going over the luxury tax threshold. On that same day, The Athletic‘s David Aldridge predicted that Houston Rockets star John Wall would ultimately land in Miami.
Aldrige didn’t even offer up other possible landing spots. “Miami — after he negotiates a buyout from the Rockets,” he wrote. “Wall lives in Miami in the offseason, and the Heat is famous for extending careers of talented guys who’ve been slowed by injuries mid-career.”
If Lowry’s injury turns out to be serious, the Heat might have to add a new point guard sooner than later.
No One Played Well On Offense Vs. the Celtics
Aside from Lowry’s injury, which is hopefully just a sprain, the Heat’s offense just couldn’t get it going. While Butler was the lone bright spot, scoring 20 points on 8-of-18 shooting, he missed all his three-point attempts and went 4-of-8 from the foul line.
While Spoelstra said after the game that this was the “poorest offensive performance” the team has had all season, it was actually the worst offensive performance the Heat has had in years.
“Tonight’s 78 points are the fewest the Heat has scored in a game since totaling 74 points in a Jan. 17, 2016 loss to the Thunder,” Chiang tweeted.
Herro’s hot streak cooled, shooting 3-of-11 from the field, and missing all four three-point attempts. Robinson made just five of his 17 three-point attempts and P.J. Tucker was 1-of-5 from beyond the arc.
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