Jan 21, 2025, 07:37 PM ET
MIAMI — Guard Tyler Herro was sidelined Tuesday night, as the Miami Heat fell to the Portland Trail Blazers 116-107 at the Kaseya Center.
Herro, who turned 25 on Monday, has been dealing right groin tightness, and he missed his first game of the season. He is averaging a team-best 24 points and was missed Tuesday, as the 15-win Trail Blazers cruised to just their sixth road victory of the season.
“That was really tough to evaluate,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of the loss, given Herro’s absence. “Without Tyler, our overall intentionality was not at its highest level.”
The Heat, before the game, announced that Herro woke up with tightness Tuesday. He was originally listed as questionable for the game and was downgraded to out about an hour before tipoff.
In his fifth NBA season, Herro has assumed a heavier offensive role, especially with the uncertainty of star forward Jimmy Butler’s future with the club. Butler recently returned from a seven-game suspension for what the Heat considered “conduct detrimental to the team.”
Rookie Kel’el Ware had 20 points and 16 rebounds and Duncan Robinson finished with 22 points for the Heat. Butler added 13 in the loss.
“I think we did well without Tyler,” Miami center Bam Adebayo said. “Obviously, we lost the game. But as far as running our sets, getting moving — obviously, Tyler is a big part of what we do, but I feel we got the ball where we were supposed to, and we just missed shots.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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