Takeaways from Heat’s fourth straight win, and Jimmy Butler’s late-game takeover vs. Raptors

Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 116-108 win over the Toronto Raptors (16-17) on Wednesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena to begin a four-game homestand. The Heat has won four straight and eight of its past 11 games:

The Heat (15-17), which won the Eastern Conference last season, learned Tuesday that it did not get a player voted into the All-Star Game. How did Miami’s top two All-Star candidates Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler respond Wednesday?

Adebayo finished with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, 12 rebounds and four assists.

Butler scored a game-high 27 points while shooting 8 of 17 from the field, 3 of 4 on threes and 8 of 8 from the foul line, to go with eight rebounds, 10 assists and three steals.

The two combined for 46 points on 28 shots, 20 rebounds, 14 assists, four steals and two blocks.

Butler’s performance included an important late-game stretch. With the Raptors cutting the Heat’s lead to two with 5:24 to play, Butler scored each of Miami’s next 12 points to spark a 12-3 run and increase its lead to 11 with 2:06 remaining.

Butler scored 14 of the Heat’s 24 points in the fourth quarter on 4-of-7 shooting.

“You need great players to be able to make plays down the stretch. That’s what Jimmy did,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “They switched, we didn’t have a whole lot open and he was just able to make some plays.”

The three three-pointers that Butler hit on Wednesday, including two in the fourth quarter, were a season-high. He entered the contest with just four made threes this season.

Adebayo and Butler both earned the honor as All-Star reserves last season.

Unless Adebayo or Butler is moved into the All-Star Game as an injury replacement, this will mark the first season that the Heat hasn’t been represented in the All-Star Game since 2016-17. Goran Dragic earned the honor in 2018 and Dwyane Wade played in the game in his final NBA season in 2019.

“It is really tough to see that, especially so early,” Spoelstra said. “We still have a half a season to go and a lot of the narrative can change. Probably people were quick to write us off, even with the subconscious voting, because of our record. But since then, it already has changed a little bit. Both of them, Bam and JB, are clearly All-Stars. It’s just unfortunate it didn’t shape up that way.”

Adebayo and Butler were both listed as East frontcourt players on the All-Star ballot. Following Wednesday’s win, they both played down any notion that they were disappointed about not being voted in.

“We’re here to do a job. That’s the bottom line,” Adebayo said. “That’s kind of how we look at it, at the end of the day. Keep pushing forward, one foot in front of the other. ... Just move through life with a smile and just enjoy it. It was great to get this win. All-Star is behind us and we’re just going to keep worrying about stacking up these W’s.”

Butler said: “I’m cool. I’m not the one to ask about going to All-Star. I wish Bam would have made it. As for me, I’m cool.”

Milwaukee’s Gianis Antetokounmpo, Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid were the three East frontcourt players voted in as All-Star starters. The frontcourt players selected to be East All-Star reserves: Julius Randle from the New York Knicks, Jayson Tatum from the Boston Celtics and Nikola Vucevic from the Orlando Magic.

Butler’s case for a spot in the All-Star Game wasn’t helped by the fact that he has already missed 12 games this season.

The Heat’s losing record also didn’t help Adebayo and Butler’s All-Star chances.

But Adebayo didn’t rule out the possibility of making an appearance in Atlanta to defend his Skills Challenge crown, an event that will be held just a few hours before the start of the All-Star Game on March 7.

“I feel like Heat Nation would want me to be 2-0,” Adebayo said. “But it’s up in the air. It’s up in the air. I got time.”

The Heat’s offense, which has struggled through the first two months of the season, has recently begun trending in a positive direction. The unit had its most efficient performance of the season on Wednesday.

Against a quality Raptors defense, the Heat scored 116 points on 46.2 percent shooting from the field and 17-of-38 shooting on threes. The Heat recorded its best single-game offensive rating of the season Wednesday, with 124.7 points scored per 100 possessions.

One of the most impressive aspects of Miami’s offensive performance against Toronto? The Heat, which entered with the NBA’s highest turnover rate (percentage of plays that end with a team turnover) at 16.3 percent, committed just 11 turnovers on Wednesday.

Miami’s strong offensive display helped negate an efficient night from Toronto, which shot 50 percent from the field and 20 of 44 on threes. The Heat also outscored the Raptors 25-14 at the free-throw line, 15-5 in second-chance points and 21-10 on points off turnovers.

Ball movement and three-point shooting are usually two of the better indicators of how the Heat’s offense is performing, and both were areas of strength against the Raptors. Miami finished with 31 assists on 37 made baskets and shot 44.7 percent on threes.

Duncan Robinson finished with 17 points on 4-of-9 shooting on threes.

The Heat, which entered with the NBA’s fifth-worst offensive rating, has taken steps forward on that end of the court recently.

Miami scored 63 points on 53.7 percent shooting from the field and 9-of-19 shooting on threes in the second half of Monday’s win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, and that offensive momentum carried over into Wednesday’s victory.

Dragic made his return Wednesday after missing the previous nine games because of a sprained left ankle.

In Dragic’s first game action in nearly three weeks, he was used in a bench role as Miami’s sixth man. He finished Wednesday’s win with 15 points on 4-of-13 shooting, two rebounds and three assists in 21 minutes.

“I felt good. I thought I was going to be more tired, but I was not,” he said. “My wind was fine. But in general, I feel good. It’s just those shots didn’t go in, but I’m happy with the win.”

Wednesday only marked the 18th game that Dragic has played in this season. He has missed 14 games — two because of health and safety protocols, three because of a strained left groin and nine because of a sprained ankle.

With Dragic’s return, the Heat had 14 players available against the Raptors. That’s a lot, considering all of the injury issues and protocol-related absences Miami has had to endure in the first two months of the season.

The only three players unavailable for the Heat on Wednesday were Avery Bradley (right calf strain), Tyler Herro (right hip contusion) and Meyers Leonard (season-ending shoulder surgery).

Heat center Chris Silva also returned Wednesday after missing missing the previous 18 games because of a left hip flexor strain.

Even with those extra options, Spoelstra stuck with the starting lineup of Kendrick Nunn, Robinson, Butler, Kelly Olynyk and Adebayo against the Raptors. It marked the 10th consecutive game that Miami has used that starting group.

The Heat used a bench rotation of Dragic, Precious Achiuwa, Andre Iguodala and Gabe Vincent.

Iguodala scored 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting threes in 24 minutes.

The Raptors also welcomed back a veteran guard on Wednesday, as Kyle Lowry returned after missing the previous four games with a thumb injury. Lowry finished with 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting.

Raptors coach Nick Nurse is among those who believe the Heat is much better than its sub-.500 record.

After Wednesday’s win, the Heat still holds a losing record at 15-17. But improvement has been made after Miami began the season at 7-14.

The Heat has won eight of its past 11 games, and the one constant is that Adebayo and Butler have both been available for each of them.

“100 percent,” Nurse said before Wednesday’s game when asked whether the Heat is better than its win-loss record. “I don’t think anybody thought that they were going to be underneath this thing the whole time and not get out of it, especially with the way they played last year with the entire team back. And again, everybody is working through different issues. For them, it’s a quick turnaround. For them, it’s some COVID. ... You know that the players are there, the coaching is there, winning organization. I would imagine that you’re going to have to go through these guys eventually to get to where you want to go in this conference.”

The Heat now sits in eighth place in the East, just one game out of the No. 4 spot.

Next up for Miami is a home game against the Utah Jazz on Friday night.