MIAMI – Despite the Miami Heat losing their last NBA Cup group play matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks, they finished the stage on a good note as they beat the Toronto Raptors, 121-111. Even with the victory, their chances at the NBA Cup this season comes to an end.
Jimmy Butler led the team with 26 points (eight for 14 shooting, two of four from three) to go with six assists and two rebounds, while Tyler Herro had 23 points on eight for 18 shooting, including 4-10 from deep. Jaime Jaquez Jr. had 15 points, Terry Rozier had 12, and Duncan Robinson finished with 10.
Bam Adebayo would have a triple-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists.
Here are three takeaways from the Heat’s win over the Raptors:
Cold start from three-point range for Heat in first half
It was a frustrating start for Miami, more so from three-point range, where they rank towards the top of the league in terms of the percentage of shots made from deep. However, with around eight minutes and change left in the first half, there was a point where the Heat had made just two shots from beyond the arc out of a whopping 20 attempts.
Duncan Robinson, who is the Heat’s most dynamic three-point shooter, missed his first five threes before making one. Still, he finished 1-8 from that range.
They would start to pick up the pace in that department when the first half ended, but they still finished making seven of 27 attempts while shooting 44.9 percent from the field. As for the Raptors, they got a lot of easy looks at the rim as they shot 61.5 percent from the field, and out of the 61 points made in the first half, 32 of them were in the paint.
The Heat star in Butler had a small health scare during Wednesday’s win over the Charlotte Hornets as he was limited due to back tightness, and he missed the entirety of the fourth quarter. However, he looked 100 percent to start Friday’s contest as he scored 14 points in the half, showing his aggressiveness.
Herro had nine points in the half, whereas Adebayo had six as the big three of Miami look to be more efficient along with the rest of the team. The Heat star in Rozier was held scoreless in the first 24 minutes coming off the bench in his new role as he also looks to bring a boost to the second unit.
A resurgent and resilient second half for the Heat
Despite the Heat having third-quarter troubles in the past, they had a resurgence in the frame Friday night as they would continue on the positive on offense, scoring 38 points while holding the Raptors to 23. It was towards the end of the period where they finished the frame on a 19-5 run.
After a poor showing in the first half from three-point range, they were significantly better in the third, making seven of 12 attempts. It was a team effort as the big three in Butler, Herro, and Adebayo made the mark, while the bench was active, including Jaquez, who had eight in the third period.
The fourth would start slow except for the play of Rozier, who is still getting used to a bench role, scored the team’s first nine of 12 points as he made three huge deep makes. Despite a double-digit lead, Toronto would not lose any fight and competed until the very last second, but Miami held true including some clutch Butler buckets, and stuck it out for their second straight win.
Heat’s NBA Cup outlook
Despite the win from the Heat over the Raptors in the final NBA Cup group play game, they are out of the picture in terms of their quest for the new prize. This marks the second straight season that Miami has not proceeded out of the group stage and into the knockout rounds.
There were many ways for the Heat to be eliminated from the NBA Cup in-season tournament, but the one that put the final nail in the coffin was the Atlanta Hawks beating the Cleveland Cavaliers earlier on Friday. This was no doubt a frustrating tourney for the team as it started on Nov. 17 against the Detroit Pistons, where Heat’s Erik Spoelstra called the phantom timeout towards the end that led to their demise.
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Heat’s Erik Spoelstra expresses thoughts on the NBA Cup
While they would beat the Indiana Pacers in group play, they then lost a brutal close one to the Milwaukee Bucks last Tuesday. Still, Spoelstra would express before Friday’s game that he likes the idea of the league’s in-season tourney.
“I like it, I think competitors, you know, you can’t just point to the financial part of it, that’s, you know, something slightly different that you can compete for,” Spoelstra said. “I know we all would have liked to have been in Vegas. You know, that’s not the case, but it sparks, you know, something you know more when you have something to play for. I think it’s always good, but I think it’ll just continue to get better.”
Because they didn’t make it to the knockout rounds, two games will be added to Miami’s schedule, with one at home and one on the road. Dates will be to be determined, but it will be in the windows of Dec. 12-13 and Dec. 15-16.
At any rate, the Heat are now 9-8 as their next game is Dec. 1, where they travel to once again face the Raptors.
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