HEAT 97 - 76ers 87 Recap

October 27 – Just one night removed from a tough season opener at the hands of Boston’s ruthless defense, the Miami HEAT took care of the Philadelphia 76ers, 97-87 (Box Score), in the sort of workmanlike fashion expected to be seen closer to Easter than Halloween.

The HEAT began by holding the 76ers to 15 points in the first quarter and from then on were seemingly in total control until breaking the game wide open with a 31-13 third quarter – by far their best quarter including the preseason games – before going into cruise control in the final period.

“For the better part of three quarters, I saw a tangible difference in how we were playing compared to last night,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Guys took it to heart and wanted to come out with a better disposition defensively and keep the ball in front of us to challenge at the rim”

“I think [for] the first three quarters, we were great,” LeBron James said.

As both Spoelstra and James mentioned, the fourth quarter was a minor letdown as the HEAT were outscored by 16, but it was also a typical fourth quarter in the NBA, when the team down big often mounts a late, desperate run – especially at home – that is most often unsustainable.

But outside of that quarter, Miami offered many more glimpses of where they want to be. They tightened up the defense, not only forcing turnovers but pushing the ball off the stop, earning 20 fast break points. Other than James’ nine turnovers – most of which were on passes to teammates he’s still getting used to, and vice versa – the rest of the team was limited to seven giveaways. And the floor spacing, without Boston’s defenders packing the paint, was much improved, with Dwyane Wade (30 points) repeatedly venturing inside for close looks.

Spacing that benefitted nobody more than James Jones.

“That’s one thing Coach harped about this morning,” James said. “Trying to keep the floor spaced for me and Dwyane because we do a lot of penetrating, and when we collapse the defense, have our shooters ready.”

Jones, a career 39 percent three-point shooter, was more than ready. He often had ten feet of room with which to catch-and-shoot his way to tying his career high with six triples (20 points total) on nine attempts. They were threes that Miami was missing the night before, and threes that gave the HEAT the controlling lead when Jones hit a pair – with Eddie House chipping in one in between – towards the end of the third period.

“Give it up for JJ, really stepping up,” Wade said.

“JJ was unbelievable today,” James said.

Unorthodox

Philadelphia coach Doug Collins opted to use small forward Jason Kapono to defend starting HEAT guard Carlos Arroyo at the beginning of the game, a move which lasted less than six minutes as Miami was up four when he was subbed out of the game.

In the second half, Arroyo scored four quick points and Kapono was removed from the game after a little over two minutes.

Coming back strong

After one of his toughest outings in recent memory – shooting 4-of-16 with six turnovers at Boston – Wade came back with 30 points on just 20 shots tonight.

The Third

The third quarter will often be a focus here because it is often the one most easily controlled by superior talent and teamwork – in part because it is the least flukey. It is the starters’ third shift, with a halftime’s worth of adjustments to implement, and the best opportunity to seize control of the game no matter what occurred in the first half.

In the preseason, the HEAT, despite their lineup fluctuating on a daily basis, controlled nearly every third quarter, and through two regular season games, they were +9 against Boston and +18 tonight. As Miami works out its kinks this season, strong third quarters will be a huge help in maintaining steady growth in the wins column.

Next

The HEAT will host the Orlando Magic in their home opener at AmericanAirlines Arena this Friday. The Magic are a strong defensive team, like Boston, but differently styled in that they depend on a singular defender in the middle as their perimeter players close out strong on shooters and fight through screens.