Heat digs out of early 19-point hole for much-needed win against league-worst Pistons
Two days after losing by 20 points to the worst team in the NBA, the Miami Heat was down 19 again to the Detroit Pistons in the first quarter Monday. One of the most trying weeks in franchise history — with COVID-19 concerns gripping the organization, postponing multiple games and leaving the Heat significantly shorthanded for three straight losses — was still spiraling deep into the first half on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Jimmy Butler was still missing because of the league’s health and safety protocols. Tyler Herro was still out because of neck spasms. With two of its top three scorers out, Miami had to dig deep into its depth chart to secure a much-needed 113-107 win against the Pistons at AmericanAirlines Arena and end a rare three-game losing streak.
Guard Goran Dragic scored 22 points, wing Duncan Robinson added 18 and went 6 of 9 from three-point range, and All-Star post player Bam Adebayo recorded a double-double with 28 points and 11 rebounds, but the Heat (5-7) also got a season-high 18 points off the bench from guard Kendrick Nunn to help spark the comeback win in Miami.
After its gruesome loss to the Pistons (3-10) on Saturday, the Heat’s start to the new week was just as dire. Detroit tore open a 19-point lead in the first quarter by going 15 of 23 from the field and 5 of 10 from three-point range.
Miami spent most of the second quarter chipping away. Robinson opened the period with back-to-back three-pointers to cut the Pistons’ lead to 36-30 and the Heat eventually took a 53-51 lead with Kendrick Nunn leading the charge. The guard scored eight points in the second quarter, went 2 of 3 from three and helped Miami go into halftime down just 61-55 after trailing 30-11 in the first.
In the third quarter, the Heat pulled away for good, outscoring the Pistons, 33-19, by shooting 13 of 20 and holding Detroit to 6 of 17.
With 5:25 left, Detroit cut Miami’s lead to 98-94 and had a chance to trim the lead all the way to two. Pistons forward Jerami Grant pushed in transition and threw an errant lob to post player Mason Plumlee, who couldn’t finish the alley-oop. Nunn led a break the other way and found Robinson for an open three to push the lead back to 101-94 with five minutes left.
Adebayo closed with nine points in those final five minutes, and Dragic hit a bank shot from the right elbow with 45.7 seconds to go. Miami stretched lead back to 110-105 to keep Detroit at bay and avoid its first four-game losing streak since the final week of the 2018-19 NBA season.
