Although the HEAT looked strong for most of the night, they couldn’t quite hold on in a narrow 116-115 loss to the Thunder Wednesday at VISA Athletic Center.
Let’s get into some takeaways.
1. Herro Has a Career Night
Simply put, Tyler Herro showed his entire offensive repertoire against OKC.
Whether it was in-rhythm catch-and-shoot treys, smooth mid-range jumpers or tough finishes inside, Herro had it all going on.
As such, he scored a career-high 30 points.
A little before that, Herro put on a show in the third quarter with a rocket pass to Kelly Olynyk and two difficult drives.
Whoa.
In addition to his career and game-high 30 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field, including 3-of-6 from deep, and a perfect 9-of-9 from the line, the rookie also had a team-high six boards, two assists and one steal.
2. Robinson Catches Fire Early
So…Duncan Robinson couldn’t miss in the first quarter.
Seriously, he hit his first five shots and led all players with 16 points after one.
And while he converted this nice finish off great ball movement…
…these back-to-back four-point plays were even more impressive:
(Yes, you read that last part correctly.)
Robinson would hit another three in the second quarter before resting in the second half.
In all, the 26-year-old tallied 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 5-of-7 from distance, three assists and two rebounds.
3. Dragić Cooks Throughout
Similar to Robinson, Goran Dragić had a red-hot start in this one.
I mean, he amassed 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, four assists, three boards and a steal in the first quarter alone.
For a perfect example of just how much he was cooking, take a look at this fancy between-the-legs pass to Bam Adebayo:
It must be a Slovenian thing.
A little later in the contest, Dragić worked the two-man game with Derrick Jones Jr. once again.
When it was all said and done, the wily vet recorded 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting, a game-high six assists, five rebounds and two steals.
Other Takeaways:
-Solomon Hill made some noise on both ends and ended up with 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting, three rebounds, two steals and one assist.
Game Notes:
-In addition to Robinson, Adebayo, Jimmy Butler and Andre Iguodala also sat out in the second half.
-Kyle Alexander, Udonis Haslem, Kendrick Nunn (Sore Throat) and KZ Okpala (Personal Reasons) were inactive.
Looking Ahead:
-The HEAT will wrap up their seeding games on Friday at 4PM when they take on the Pacers. Of course, they’ll also face Indiana in the first round, with Game 1 taking place on either Monday or Tuesday.