In their first game since the season shut down on March 11, the HEAT defeated the Kings 104-98 Wednesday night at HP Field House in Orlando.
Let’s get into some takeaways from the action.
1. Robinson Does What He Does
So…Duncan Robinson wasted little time to get going in this one.
In fact, he hosted a three-for-all in the first quarter with a game-high 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting.
That seemed to permeate throughout the whole team, as Miami hit a bunch of threes early on and didn’t convert a two-point field goal until 2:14 left in the first quarter.
Seriously.
As the game progressed, Robinson continued to be aggressive and competed hard defensively.
When it was all said and done, the 26-year-old recorded a team-high 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting, two boards and one assist.
2. Iguodala Sharp On Both Ends
After practice on Tuesday, Erik Spoelstra lauded Andre Iguodala for how he can impact a game on both ends.
And well, the 16-year vet did just that against Sacramento.
All told, Iguodala initiated offense, dished out some pinpoint passes and was everywhere on the defensive end (including at the top of the zone with Jae Crowder early in the second quarter).
Oh yeah, he also drilled two treys and came through with this great head fake and jam late in the first quarter:
(Also note the nifty pass by Kelly Olynyk. More on him later.)
In all, Iguodala tallied 11 points on 3-of-6 shooting, two boards, one assist and one steal.
3. Dragić Mixes It Up
With Kendrick Nunn out, Goran Dragić got the start and took advantage of his time on the floor.
Not only did he hit a couple threes, but he also attacked the basket and continued to be a one-man wrecking crew in transition.
Dragić finished with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including 2-of-4 from deep, two rebounds, one assist, one steal and a plus-13 rating.
Other Takeaways:
-Miami’s ball movement was very strong, as the team tallied 22 assists on 32 made field goals.
And while there were some solid sequences throughout the contest, nothing touches this one that resulted in a finish with contact for Jimmy Butler in the second quarter:
Speaking of Butler, the wily vet had nine points (all in the second quarter) on 2-of-4 shooting from the field and 5-of-5 from the line, three rebounds, two assists, one steal and a game-high plus-20 rating.
-Although Tyler Herro struggled a bit with his outside shot, he stuck with it, acted more as a ball handler and finished plays at the rim time and time again.
Just check out this impressive drive late in the fourth:
The rookie ended up with 15 points (a game-high seven in the fourth) on 5-of-14 shooting from the field and a perfect 5-of-5 from the charity stripe, a team-high six rebounds (tied with Olynyk) and one assist.
-KO absorbed a ton of contact inside and kept the ball moving, like on this feed to Gabe Vincent off the pick-and-roll late in the fourth quarter:
Olynyk concluded the night with 12 points on 3-of-7 shooting from the field and 6-of-7 from the free throw line, a team-high six boards, a team-high four assists (tied with Derrick Jones Jr.) and a block.
Game Notes:
-Butler and Dragić didn’t play in the second half.
-In addition to Nunn, Bam Adebayo also sat out.
Looking Ahead:
-The HEAT will continue their scrimmage slate against the Utah Jazz on Saturday at 4PM. You can catch the game live on either the FOX Sports Go App or NBA TV. You can also check it out on tape delay on FOX Sports Sun at 8PM.