Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s disappointing 101-93 loss to the short-handed Memphis Grizzlies (15-9) on Monday night at FedExForum to close its four-game trip at 2-2. The Heat (11-13) now returns to Miami to begin a three-game homestand on Tuesday against the Detroit Pistons (6-19) (7:30 p.m., Bally Sports Sun) on the second night of a back-to-back:
It hasn’t happened often recently, but the Heat entered Monday’s game as the much healthier team. The problem is the Heat still lost.
The Grizzlies were without four starters against the Heat on the second night of a back-to-back set after defeating the Pistons in Detroit on Sunday. Memphis ruled out starters Desmond Bane (big toe sprain), Jaren Jackson Jr. (return from injury management), John Konchar (right toe soreness) and Ja Morant (left ankle soreness) against Miami.
Bane has missed 11 straight games because of his injury. However, Jackson logged 30 minutes, Konchar logged 32 minutes and Morant logged 35 minutes in Sunday’s win over the Pistons, as all three players rested Monday on the second night of Memphis’ back-to-back.
The Grizzlies were also without Danny Green (left knee surgery recovery), Jake LaRavia (left foot soreness) and Ziaire Williams (right patellar tendinitis) against the Heat.
Meanwhile, the Heat had 13 of its 16 players available on Monday and had its preferred starting lineup of Kyle Lowry, Tyler Herro, Jimmy Butler, Caleb Martin and Bam Adebayo together for the second straight game.
The Heat still couldn’t come away with the win.
Miami pulled ahead by as many as 11 points in the first quarter after shooting 6 of 9 from three-point range in the opening period, the Grizzlies dominated the second quarter 31-19 to enter halftime with a seven-point lead over the Heat.
The Heat responded by opening the third quarter on a 12-2 run to take a three-point lead. But that lead was short-lived, as the Grizzlies regained control to enter the fourth quarter ahead by five points.
Memphis then controlled the final period from start to finish. The closest the Heat got in the fourth quarter was within five points.
After hitting six threes in the first quarter, the Heat shot just 8 of 31 (25.8 percent) from three-point range in the final three quarters.
With Morant and three other starters out, Grizzlies guard Tyus Jones finished with a career-high 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the field and tied a season-high with 10 assists.
Tyler Herro scored a team-high 23 points on 8-of-20 shooting from the field and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Heat.
The Grizzlies earned the short-handed win by dominating the paint.
Memphis closed Monday’s victory with an eye-opening 64-24 edge in the paint. It negated the fact that the Heat outscored the Grizzlies 42-24 from behind the three-point line.
The Grizzlies made this an advantage from the start, outscoring the Heat 36-8 inside the paint in the first half. Miami shot just 4 of 17 from within the paint and 3 of 10 at the rim in the first two quarters.
It was an uncharacteristic performance for the Heat’s defense, as it entered Monday’s loss limiting opponents to an NBA-low 44.9 paint points per game this season. Miami defense, which is built to cut off driving lanes and deter offenses away from the basket by frequently sending extra defenders to wall off the paint, also entered Monday holding opponents to the second-fewest shots at the rim in the league this season at 22.9 per game.
Even in a very disappointing loss, the Heat’s starting unit was a net positive. But Miami just didn’t get much from its bench.
The Heat’s starting unit of Lowry, Herro, Butler, Martin and Adebayo outscored the Grizzlies by seven points in 22 minutes together on Monday. Miami was outscored by 15 points in the remaining 26 minutes of the game.
The Heat bench combined to score just 11 points on 3-of-17 shooting from the field in the loss.
The Heat’s starting lineup opened strong, beginning the night on a 28-17 run before turning to its bench.
The Heat’s starters also opened the second half fast, using a 17-10 run in the first 6:03 of the third quarter to turn a seven-point halftime deficit into a 68-68 tie.
Miami’s new starting group hasn’t played much together this season because of injuries, but it has been effective in their limited time together. The Lowry-Herro-Butler-Martin-Adebayo combination entered Monday outscoring opponents by 5.6 points per 100 possessions in 98 minutes this season.
The Heat’s rotation again included Haywood Highsmith as the ninth man over Duncan Robinson.
With Lowry, Herro, Butler, Martin and Dedmon starting, the Heat used a bench rotation of Max Strus, Gabe Vincent, Dewayne Dedmon and Highsmith.
The most notable aspect of the bench rotation was Highsmith playing off the bench over Robinson for the second straight game. These last two games have marked Robinson’s first two healthy DNP-CDs (did not play, coach’s decision) of the season.
Highsmith, who was essentially out of the Heat’s rotation over the first month of the season, has earned this opportunity by impressing with his defensive ability when he was forced into action because of the team’s recent injury issues.
Entering Monday’s game in Memphis, the Heat had allowed 8.7 fewer points per 100 possessions with Haywood on the court compared to when he’s been on the bench.
Highsmith finished the Heat’s loss with six points, six rebounds, three steals and one block in 14 minutes.
Highsmith has now played in nine straight games, logging at least 20 minutes in each one. Most of them came because the Heat’s roster was decimated by injuries, but Highsmith’s last two appearances have come with Miami close to full health and that’s noteworthy.
A lot has changed for the Heat — for the better — since its nightmarish road trip. But Monday was a missed opportunity.
Two weeks ago, the Heat fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 21 to cap an 0-4 trip to fall to 7-11 for the season. It marked Miami’s first winless trip of at least four games since going 0-4 on a four-game trip all the way back in March 2008.
Since then, the Heat has posted a 4-2 record to get to inch closer to .500. Miami is now 11-13 this season.
Amid injury issues, the Heat had just seven available players for one game during its 0-4 trip a few weeks ago. In Monday’s loss to the Grizzlies, the Heat had 13 players available with just Jamal Cain (G League assignment), Victor Oladipo (left knee tendinosis) and Omer Yurtseven (left ankle surgery) ruled out.
The Heat is in good position to continue stacking wins, too, with six of its next eight games coming against teams with a sub-.500 record.
But Monday’s loss was disappointing, considering the Grizzlies were missing four starters, including their best player in Morant. The Heat missed an opportunity to get back to .500, as a win in Memphis would have pushed Miami to 12-12 for the season.
