Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Heat’s fourth-quarter comeback fails at home against the Pistons

The Heat couldn’t punch the gas until it was too late and got put down by the first-seeded Pistons, who were on the second night of a back-to-back. They got to their hotel at 4 AM Saturday and still unloaded the most digits (76) in the lane that Miami had surrendered all season, and it was Duncan Robinson’s first visit back to Kaseya Center. He showcased how valuable he is without the 3-pointers. 

Coach Erik Spoelstra said, “Defensively, for us, it just felt like we were on our heels and passive for the majority of the night. There was a segment with our second unit where it really kind of changed the feeling of the game for five minutes, six minutes… but defensively, it took us a long time to be aggressive.” 

Their defense was unfastened by repeated drive-bys, conceding 22 of Detroit’s 36 first-quarter points in the lane. It was the equivalent of watching someone in the ring get tagged by endless lead rights to the dome. The Pistons even went on a 13-0 run while Cade Cunningham was getting his rest, taking a 36-23 lead into the second frame. The Heat were lucky not to be down further, as a good slice of their points came at the line and their visitors soiled seven possessions with turnovers. 

The Pistons were still sloppy, taking care of the ball in the second quarter, but it made no difference because the Heat were afflicted by another monsoon of paint strikes. Cade Cunningham was undaunted by any scheme, piercing the lane for half (5) of those shots at close range.

Herro got denied violently by Isaiah Stewart at close range and was docile until the fourth quarter.

The Heat went to halftime down 71-59. They were outscored in the paint by 20 (42), but had another stimulus at the charity line that prevented the game from slipping into dangerous territory. The deficit subsequently swelled before Norman Powell’s marksmanship helped cut it to 10. But the Pistons kept bodying them like a tall middleweight in a fade with a short, natural welterweight, and raised the gap back to 17 going into the fourth.

Andrew Wiggins’ rim pressure and shot off a pick-6 was keeping Miami’s heart pumping on offense. Then Davion Mitchell stepped up, picking up three steals, Adebayo made two shots in the lane, Herro swished three treys and Powell poured in a layup and three huge freebies with under two minutes left. Yet their 44-point late burst was diluted as Cunningham breached the lane for a short jumper with 20 seconds left, putting the Pistons ahead by four. He even swiped the ball, and it bounced out of bounds off Powell’s leg, on the following possession.

The Heat lost 138-135. Spoelstra said, Detroit showed us, you know, why they’ve been number one in the East so far. We’ve been an up-and-coming team, but that was a different level for big parts of the game.”  

Game Notes:

• The Pistons were minus Jalen Duren and Caris LeVert, and their lowest-scoring quarter was the fourth, with 30 points. Tobias Harris channeled vintage Carmelo Anthony, roasting smaller players; Cunningham logged 25 points on 56% shooting on attempts from short, middle and long range; and three Pistons had between eight and 10 rebounds.

• Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s absence opened the door for Nikola Jović to get extra time off the bench, but he was invisible, except when getting dusted or turning it over, which included a worthless pass into Ron Holland III’s hands, creating a pick-6. Instead, they got premium production from Ware off the bench.

• Their 33 free throws were the third-most they’ve made this season. Wiggins was perfect on nine attempts, and three other Heatles made between four and seven.

• Herro and Mitchell combined for zero baskets in their first 10 attempts. Herro’s starting lineup integration resulted in the third-straight night the offense looked washed, as they had one of their lowest-scoring first halves. This time it was courtesy of Detroit’s speed and size making it nasty, but that changed in the fourth. 

• Robinson nailed three 3-pointers, including one in the corner in Herro’s eye, but most of his shots were recorded at the rim. He notably had five assists against one turnover.