Nothing like playing a team in the cellar to boost the numbers.

It was the first meeting since Bam Adebayo’s 83-point outburst on March 10, and the Heat’s bench crew got the extra time in the tune-up win. They scored 142.1 points per 100 possessions, good enough for the 99th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass.

Still, the Wizards pressured Adebayo early, not wanting to allow a repeat or close to it of his career high. He said, “They did their jobs. I got six shot attempts.”

Tyler Herro was absent for personal reasons, so Simone Fontecchio started in his place, scoring eight points in 19 minutes. 

Jaime Jaquez Jr. set a season high of 32 points, slicing and pivoting through the lane. His best stretch was in the second quarter, helping the team separate themselves from the Wizards, making five of his 12 baskets. 

On top of that, the Heat missed all four 3-point attempts in the period and still scored 41 points on 68.2% shooting.

Kel’el Ware also made 10 shots in the restricted are and behind the 3-point line, with 19 rebounds and seven blocks. Coach Erik Spoelstra said, “I would say, we’ve had three practices in the last few days, I would venture to say these are the three best practices he’s had this year and those are coming out of some tough games with tough competition.”

They started the fourth quarter ahead by 31 points, and none of the starters had to come in. The team had shut off the paint for most of the game up to that point, while getting what they wanted.

Rookie Kasparas Jakučionis, who hadn’t played the last two games because of a coach’s decision, was one of four players to log all of the fourth-quarter minutes. Nikola Jović likely would have been the fifth, but he was fouled, catching a lob in mid-air with 36 seconds and came down hard on his left ankle. Jamir Watkins was given a flagrant foul penalty two, and Spoelstra later said that Jović’s ankle was sprained. Keep in mind that Jović had missed the last six games.

The Heat won 152-136, setting a new season high in points and it was one point shy of their all-time single game scoring record. The previous high (150) this season also came against Washington on March 10. 

–

The Heat are the 10th seed, with four games are left in the regular season: the next two are in Toronto against the Raptors, then Washington on April 10 and the finale on April 12, hosting the Atlanta Hawks.  

There wasn’t much separation through three quarters, and the teams were desperate to climb out of Play-In Tournament territory. Aside from some relief minutes given to Kel’el Ware, the team was playing six guys while their 3-point shooting was not a factor. 

Then Tyler Herro was the best player on the floor in the fourth. He had 18 points before it started, and played the rest of the minutes, making pull-up jumpers and dive-bys. He finished with 30 points, but no baskets were bigger than the consecutive 3-pointers that gave the Heat the late lead. It was his highest-scoring fourth period of the season, and he also had two critical blocks in crunch time. 

He said, “I mean I was open, both were great looks. I was able to knock them down, rely on my work. I shoot those same shots every day multiple times a day.”

It also helped the Heat that the other five players scored in the lane in the fourth, they were the nastier team on the boards, and they had their sharpest defensive spurt late. Bam Adebayo said, “You saw how we guarded, we’re capable of that. We can do that every night.”

Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid carried the visitors down the stretch, scoring 10 points on 50% shooting, but the effects were diluted as the Heat keyed in on everyone else. 

The Heat won 119-109 after three ties and 14 lead changes. 

Coach Erik Spoelstra said , “There were several moments where we were putting pedal to the metal, and it started defensively.” 

The team slowed the 76ers offense to 110.1 points per 100 possessions, good enough for the 33rd percentile, per Cleaning the Glass. 

Additionally, the Heat are three games behind the Atlanta Hawks for the sixth seed, and would need to be almost perfect while their division rivals come apart the rest of the way. Keep in mind that the Orlando Magic and the 76ers want that spot just as badly as the Heat. 

Observations:

• Embiid is not the same rebounder he used to be, perhaps to preserve the spring in his legs. Nonetheless, he is still a powerhouse inside the arc because of his brutish strength and soft tough. Tyrese Maxey is the perfect complimentary star next to him since he is so fast as a three-level scorer. Yet, Herro and Adebayo outplayed them by combining for more points and rebounds. To boot, Adebayo made 12 of 13 freebies, and it was his ninth time this year taking double-figure free throws.

• It was the Heat’s worst 3-point shooting night of the season, making 27.5% of attempts. The previous worst was set in Friday’s loss in Cleveland, after logging only 32.6%.

• Notably, the rookie Kasparas Jakučionis did not play because of the coach’s decision. It was the first game he missed since the Feb. 6 loss in Boston. Additionally, Philly’s V.J. Edgecombe has been one of the top rookies this year, and he was held to two points in the second half in almost 15 minutes.

The five-game losing streak ended in Cleveland in game one of the miniseries. The defense derailed one of the top attacks in the league, and they prevented the Cavaliers from having success on second opportunities.

The Heat’s seven three-pointers and a few slips into the lane sustained them in the first quarter, as they climbed to a nine-point lead, while the Cavaliers’ offense was stuck in the mud. Things kept going right for the Heat in the next frame as they slowed down James Harden’s shot creation plus Andrew Wiggins and Jaime Jaquez Jr. combined for five baskets at short and long range.

They went into intermission ahead by 17, but the Cavs subsequently got within reaching distance in the third quarter thanks to Donovan Mitchell turning into supernova, scoring 13 points in the period. Yet, they wasted fuel in their reserves trying to catch up, and the Heat had a second wind as they targeted the lane.  

The Heat won 120-103. It was their first road victory since March 6 in Charlotte.

Takeaways:

• The Cavaliers were without Jarrett Allen and four other rotation players on the second night of a back-to-back after defeating the Orlando Magic at home on Tuesday. They are a contender and are going all in after trading their young two-time All-Star (Darius Garland) for 36-year-old James Harden. The Heat were able to hold Harden to 40% shooting and five turnovers.

• The Heat’s bench outscored Cleveland’s by 28 points, and the defense held the Cavs to 9.9 points below the league average in the restricted area. Furthermore, the Heat’s run-and-stun offense and sharp deep shooting had 11 fastbreak points, and 13 triples by halftime. They only had six more points on the break and had five extra triples the rest of the game. The team had eight double-figure scores, and the offense logged 125.3 per 100 possessions, good enough for the 78th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass. 

• Mitchell was the top player in the game through three quarters, scoring 26 points in that span, but the fourth belonged to Jaquez, Kel’el Ware, Norman Powell and Tyler Herro. 

• Bam Adebayo shot poorly (31.6), but he was a factor on the glass, picking up 10 boards and dishing seven assists against one turnover.

The Heat didn’t have enough horsepower to hang with Luka Dončić and LeBron James despite the close result. The former had the highest scoring game against the Miami Heat in history by an opponent, and the hosts were also significantly smaller, being unable to contain dribble penetration.

Dončić bent the defense to his liking with drive-by and pull-up 3-pointers. He didn’t slow down in the first quarter even after tripping hard on Austin Reaves’ foot coming down the court. Meanwhile, the Heat were scorching from short and long range and got a good chunk of their production from Davion Mitchell, Simone Fontecchio and Kel’el Ware combining for nine first-quarter baskets.. 

Then the Lakers soon turned the tables as LeBron James was immaculate, shooting at the nail and at close range, and Dončić caused damage in the same areas.   

Bam Adebayo subsequently got blasted by Dončić’s artillery strikes, plus the crew soon gave up the lead, being slow to recover and were down double digits. Miami’s offense was also ineffective from the outside, but Adebayo and Kel’el Ware got loose in the lane to buy them some time. 

Yet Donićić kept his foot on the accelerator, scoring 20 points in the fourth quarter. The team managed to stay within single digits for the period thanks to Norman Powell and Tyler Herro’s seven combined baskets, but they couldn’t protect the arc or avoid late fouls. 

The Heat lost after five lead changes and two ties, 134-126. Despite scoring 70 in the lane, they couldn’t keep up with the Lakers’ shooting 43.8% from deep. 

Coach Erik Spoelstra gave Dončić props. “To start the half, he had three straight threes and that just ignited him,” Spoelstra said, snapping his fingers for emphasis. “From there, it became an incredible display of shot-making and drawing fouls, you know, etcetera.”

Takeaways:

• The Lakers were on the second night of a back-to-back. The Lakers were a step slow to start, going behind by double digits within a few minutes. Their flight got into Miami at 3:59 AM, per the Associated Press’ Tim Reynolds. Nonetheless, they get stronger as the game went on, and James tied Robert Parrish for the most games played in NBA history. He was also a beast off-ball, and logged his second triple-double of the season (19 points, 10 assists and 15 rebounds).

• The Heat deployed their 25th starting lineup and they were without their best bench scorer, Jaime Jaquez Jr., among their absences. The reserves still outscored LA’s by 25, and the team got what they wanted in the lane, even going a perfect 11-for-11 in the restricted area during the second half. The team went on to score 124.8 points per 100 possessions, good enough for the 78th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass. Yet even with scoring 42 points in the first quarter and 38 in the fourth, that wasn’t enough to outweigh getting outscored by 22 points in the second and third.

• The team has lost three in a row after being at a season best 10 games over .500. They are a half-game outside of the sixth seed, which is claimed by the Atlanta Hawks, who are on an 11-game win streak.

• Dončić heard MVP chants at Kaseya Center, finishing with 60 points on 60% shooting, with seven rebounds, three assists and five steals. Adebayo said, “He hit some tough shots out there. Like it is what it is. I know what it’s like to be in that mode.” Furthermore, Dončić and James’ played a part in slowing down the Heat in transition by making them check the ball in so often.

• Adebayo finished with 28 points on 47.4% shooting, with 10 rebounds and two assists. After him, the team had five double-figure scorers log between 11 and 21 points.

The Heat got obliterated in the second half in Charlotte against the Hornets. It’s their second loss in a row, and the captain, Bam Adebayo, was out with calf tightness, which affected their rebounding and coverages. 

The Hornets were playing with extra synchronicity and force, causing coach Erik Spoelstra to summon his troops. They were mostly off target, and it turned into a track meet, while they got contributions from their background players.

The Heat started the second quarter down two points and struggled to contain Charlotte’s inside-out attack. Davion Mitchell was called for a flagrant foul one after hitting LaMelo Ball’s nether region when curling around a screen. Yet, the Heat’s saving grace was repeated trips to the charity line, and more hustle from Keshad Johnson.

They subsequently were stunned by Charlotte’s inside pressure to start the third quarter, and got some relief when Pelle Larsson drew Kon Knueppel’s fourth foul early in the third quarter, forcing him to sit next to Brandon Miller, who also had four. The Heat’s first substitution of the period came after six minutes with Jaime Jaquez Jr. coming in for Norman Powell, and Johnson came back soon to work the back of the zone. 

Eventually, Coby White erupted with strikes from short and long range, and the game got testy as Tyler Herro and Josh Green tangled up, causing both herds to be separated. 

Ball then got out in the fast lane, setting up others plus himself. Miller also got in on the action, nailing two 3-pointers, and Knueppel erupted, causing the Heat to fall apart. The visitors were down 21 by the time Herro checked back in and got uglier quickly. 

The Heat lost 136-106.

Spoelstra said the floodgates were opened. “It was disappointing to see. There were parts of the game where it was just highly competitive…We’ll learn what we can, but we have to move on and get on to the next fight, and make sure we are ready and do what we need to do for Thursday night.”

Takeaways:

• No team in the NBA is getting surprised by the Charlotte Hornets since they’ve been playing well for two months. Their high-level offense shredded the Heat to pieces, and they scored 37 points in the third and 40 in the fourth quarter. Keep in mind that the Heat were down six with over a minute into the fourth. The Hornets have a collection of young, talented players who play unselfishly, and White had his best game since being traded to the Hornets on Feb. 4.

• The Heat’s biggest bright spot was Johnson, who hustled for loose balls, made timely cuts, downed multiple treys and even threw down the reverse dunk from the baseline. He got minutes over Nikola Jović, who was cleared after 11 absences (back injury). Spoelstra said, “The majority of our young guys have gotten their opportunities. [Johnson] didn’t get his opportunity frequently yet because of all the young guys [who] were playing, but we felt all season long that he had been getting a lot better and his minutes in the G League had been very good.”

• The defense was compromised without Adebayo. Additionally, Herro and Powell started together and it leaves the team vulnerable since they are not great at stopping the ball. The Heat allowed the Hornets to score 128.3 points per 100 possessions, good enough for the 90th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass.

• Herro and Powell were inefficient as the team’s highest scorers, logging 20 and 17 points. Ball was the player of the game, logging 30 points 0n 50% shooting, with 13 assists and six rebounds. The Hornets had four more double-figure scorers log between 14 and 24 points.

• The Heat have 13 games left and are the seventh seed, being only a half-game behind the Orlando Magic. The Magic have the tiebreaker because they beat the Heat five times this season.