Mateo’s Hoop Diary: The Herro of the fourth quarter delivered the win

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.