The Miami Heat got a dose of what the Oklahoma City Thunder are capable of Wednesday night as they lost inside the Kaseya Center, 128-120. Head coach Erik Spoelstra spoke after the game about what went wrong, the Thunder, and more specifically, star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

While it was a close game in the first half, Oklahoma City started the second half with a 13-0 run that ended up being the beginning of the end for the Heat. Despite losing for most of the first 24 minutes, the Thunder were shooting well, even having an over 70 percent shooting percentage from the field in the second period.

However, Miami's offensive juice would run out and couldn't keep with the likes of the opposing team as their defense struggled along with it. Spoelstra started by saying to the media that the Thunder are a “very good basketball team,” saying their success “is not an accident,” and mentioned players such as Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren.

“The first thing is, that's a very good basketball team. Alexander obviously puts a lot of pressure on you to have to get a lot of things right. [Jalen] Williams obviously is taking a big step forward and [Chet] Holmgren really changed a lot of things for us at the rim. I felt like we had some advantages and he really protected the rim extremely well,” Spoelstra said. “They're very well coached as well. They're organized and play to their strengths on both ends of the court. So where they are in the standings and in the league as the third best team in the league is not an accident. So you have to do a lot of things with great effort, but also system discipline. And that's where we made a lot of mistakes.”

Spoelstra reveals why Gilgeous-Alexander is a “tough cover”

Alexander has proven to be one of the better players not just at his position, but in the league in general. So far this season, the 25-year old is averaging 31.5 points, 6.4 assists, and six rebounds per game. Scoring 28 and recording eight dimes against the Heat, Spoelstra explains why Alexander is a “tough cover.”

“He's a tough cover because he's one of those guys that regardless of how many opportunities he gets, he's going to get his average at some point. So you have to to be extremely disciplined and take away relief baskets and all the other areas and then make it tough on them,” Spoelstra said. “We didn't take away the relief baskets throughout the course of the game on anyone else whether it was transition, cuts, glitches that led to wide open shots, those are far more costly, because he's going to get to his spots. He has tremendous footwork for a perimeter player at such an elite level that you have to have incredible discipline.”

Spoelstra expressed that he enjoyed how Miami played in the first half when they were hitting shots on offense, making the right reads, and overall playing to their strengths. However, it all changed. The head coach, who just received a huge contract extension, mentioned how he wished there was no halftime since they were playing so well.

The goal for Spoelstra and the Heat now is to get to a point where if the shots don't fall, the defense doesn't fall with it. Even he said that Miami teams historically are known for that, but they aren't there yet.

Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro reflect on loss and moving forward

Star Bam Adebayo led the team with 25 points and 11 rebounds, making it his 18th double-double of the season and recording eight in his last nine games. He matched up with Holmgren for a majority of the game and the rookie scored 23 points, nine rebounds, and was a massive presence at the rim with three blocks.

“I feel like he is a good fit for that team. Their energy towards each other is very blended,” Adebayo said about Holmgren and the Thunder. “They have a good group of guys over there and it's not just him. They got a young group that can really get wins and shocking people. It doesn't shock me if they make runs in June.”

Even with the disappointing loss, the Heat won't have much room to reflect as their next game is Friday against the Orlando Magic. Heat star Tyler Herro said to ClutchPoints that whether the game ends in a victory or a loss, it's a “learning process.” He scored 17 points, recorded six assists, and collected five rebounds.

“Every game is a learning process,” Herro said. “Even when we win, we take pride in watching the film, trying to try to correct our mistakes and continuing that every game. Like you said there's not much time for rest, but we will watch the film and get ready for Friday.”

The Heat are now 21-16 on the season as they head into Friday's game facing Orlando as it's the third game of this week's home stand. Miami won't practice tomorrow, but plan to Saturday to prepare for the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday before heading back on the road for two games.