The Miami Heat fall to the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second game of this week's four-game home stand. Miami's performance fell off in the second half to propel the opponent to break some ground and pull away with the victory inside the Kaseya Center.
Bam Adebayo led the team in points and rebounds with 25 and 11, while rookie Jaime Jaquez had 21 and 5. It was a solid night for Haywood Highsmith who had 19 points, making five of his seven shots from deep. Tyler Herro would contribute 17 points, making seven of his 21 shots.
On the Thunder side, star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 28 points and eight assists. Top rookie alongside Jaquez in Chet Holmgren had 23 points, three blocks, and nine rebounds.
Here are three takeaways from the Heat's loss over the Thunder:
A perplexing first half for Miami and Oklahoma City
It was another 30 plus point first quarter for the Heat as once again, they set the pace for the Thunder to follow. In terms of field goal percentage though, Oklahoma City shot 65 percent compared to Miami's 63.6 percent. However, the home team was way more successful from three-point range.
Gilgeous-Alexander has been a problem for the whole NBA and he was again in the period as he made 11 points and seemed automatic. On the other hand, it was a collective effort for the Heat as Herro led the team with nine, but other players such as Haywood Highsmith and Kevin Love each contributed with eight points.
It was an unusual second quarter as to fast forward to the very end of the 12 minutes, the Heat carried a 69-65 lead heading into halftime. However, the Thunder would continue their efficient shooting night as they scored 36 in the quarter, had a 73.7 field goal percentage, and were losing.
The only time they led was when Jalen Williams hit a three very late in the period, but Miami would score five straight points to take back the lead to head into the break. Despite the lead, asking the Heat to outlast the Thunder in a scoring battle could be a recipe for disaster. They will need to set the pace in the second half.
A ton of runs in the second half
As said before, the Heat out-scoring the Thunder in a shoot-out doesn't seem likely, but that's what it became in the third period. It all went downhill when Oklahoma City went on a 13-0 run that took Miami by surprise to start the second half.
The Thunder once again had a 30 plus point quarter while the Heat had their worst offensive period with 27. Miami would shoot 31. 8 percent from the field and commit five turnovers in the quarter, a clear sign of regression from the first half.
Going into the fourth quarter, it was another 13-0 run for Oklahoma City as they overwhelmed Miami again to bring their lead up to 16 points. However, Miami would roar back with a 10-2 run that would make the game interesting, but the Thunder would stifle them quickly and would put the home team away.
A shaky home stand so far
Going into Monday's game against the Houston Rockets, the Heat's next 13 of 18 games would be inside the Kaseya Center. This is a prime opportunity to break some ground at home as they have more victories on the road due to the heavy schedule on the road.
With the loss to the Thunder, it brings them to 1-1 in the current home stand with some winnable games against the Orlando Magic and the Charlotte Hornets ahead. The game Wednesday night was going to be a tough one regardless due to the firepower Oklahoma City have, but as the Eastern Conference has been a bloodbath, the team doesn't want to slow down and take loss after loss, despite it still being fairly early in the season.
Plus, the team is hoping to get some positive injury news regarding the likes of stars Jimmy Butler, Caleb Martin, and Kyle Lowry. Those are three key rotational pieces for the Heat that they missed, though they have been without a number of players this whole season as injury problems have continued to plague the team.
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