While the HEAT were strong through three quarters, they couldn’t sustain their play late in a 125-119 overtime loss to the Cavs Monday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Let’s get into some takeaways.
1. Bam Does All He Can
From the start, Bam Adebayo was uber aggressive on both ends of the floor, as he finished plays inside off the dribble, hit a couple feathery mid-range jumpers and defended multiple guys as usual.
Of course, he also set up his teammates with some great feeds, including this lob in transition to Derrick Jones Jr. late in the third:
(That was actually his second alley-oop connection with DJJ.)
And even though Adebayo did all he could down the stretch with plays like this…
…it ultimately wasn’t enough in the end.
Adebayo finished with a team-high 22 points (tied with Goran Dragić) on 9-of-15 shooting, a team-high 13 rebounds, a game-high nine assists, a game-high three steals (tied with Kevin Porter Jr.) and a game-high four blocks (tied with Andre Iguodala).
2. Nunn Stays Poised
Although Kendrick Nunn led all players with 12 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting in the third quarter, his best sequence of the night came a little later when he forced overtime.
Clutch.
In all, Nunn had 21 points on 9-of-18 shooting, four assists, three rebounds and a steal.
3. Robinson Sharp Early
As been the case pretty much all year, Duncan Robinson kicked things off with a bunch of treys and put a lot of pressure on the defense.
Thanks to hitting a game-high five 3-pointers, Robinson became the fourth player in franchise history to drill at least 200 threes in a single season. What’s more, he did it the quickest (57 games).
That’s impressive.
In total, the 25-year-old amassed 15 points, one rebound and one assist against Cleveland.
Other Takeaways:
-Once again, Dragić varied his offensive approach with a multitude of mid-range jumpers and shots from beyond the arc.
The Dragon ended up with a team-high 22 points, six assists and four rebounds.
-Soo…Chris Silva was not playing around in the first half.
After making a good read and engulfing Tristan Thompson’s shot attempt late in the first quarter…
…the rookie came through with this massive one-handed jam over Dante Exum early in the next period:
Whoa.
Silva concluded with four points, four boards, two assists and that block above.
Game Notes:
-Jimmy Butler (Personal Reasons) was an active scratch.
-Kyle Alexander (Right Knee; Hyperextended & PCL Sprain), Tyler Herro (Right Ankle Soreness), Meyers Leonard (Left Ankle Sprain) and KZ Okpala (G League - On Assignment) were inactive.
Looking Ahead:
-The HEAT will return to Miami for a five-game homestand, starting Wednesday against the Timberwolves. Tickets for that matchup at AmericanAirlines Arena can be found here.