There was Erik Spoelstra's mistake in Detroit who called for a time-out without having one, this other infuriating defeat against the same opponent in overtime, these short setbacks against the Suns and the Bucks where, at the end of one timeout, the Heat weren't even able to generate a potential game-tying shot.
And then there was this night when Miami completely failed on the Magic floor. Floor on which the Floridians had a lead of up to 25 points. And another 22 at the start of the fourth quarter. According to AP, never has a team with such a lead at this stage of a match lost in the last five years: 796 victories! Until yesterday then.
“We can’t really explain it. This is something I've never seen before. I have never seen that, in all my years in the league, this ability to fight despite all the circumstances that can ruin things at the start of a match », is himself struggling to achieve Jamahl Mosley, deprived of Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs or even Gary Harris.
Three lost balloons to start
« We were too relaxed because we were in the lead. I feel like it was the karma of the game that punished us. We relax and let a guy get fired up, then it goes the other way and we try to respond “, notes Bam Adebayo, speaking of the hero opposite, Cole Anthony.
What Erik Spoelstra describes as a “ avalanche » that the Heat was unable to contain. But before this, his attack stalled. “ We played certain systems at the end of the third quarter, we were productive. We tried to do similar actions when starting the fourth. There were three lost balls in a row… », Stops the Florida coach who has no explanation for these “turnovers”.
Deprived of Jimmy Butler, his team started the period with a missed pass from Duncan Robinson, without much defensive pressure, who wanted to serve Jaime Jaquez Jr. in the post. The latter would then lose another ball on a hazardous transmission.
Tyler Herro blames himself
Behind Miami, which had scored 76 points in the first period, and another 30 points in the third, froze offensively: only 8 points scored (37 to 8) with 2/18 on shots including 0/8 from distance!
« This is largely my fault. It's up to me to take charge in the end, to make the right choices so that we can win. So I will improve. I'm able to finish the matches and that's a big part of my responsibility, Jimmy not being there. I will be better on Monday and in the future », Promises the back while thinking of the match against the Nets.
« These are difficult lessons that we all must learn. We all have a share of responsibility in this defeat, in this fourth quarter, including myself “, concludes Spoelstra, whose Heat once again displays a fairly balanced record at 13 victories and as many defeats.
