MIAMI — A good team takes care of this efficiently.
The Miami Heat at the moment are still something short of a good team.
So even against the short-handed Charlotte Hornets it becomes a struggle.
And on Thursday night almost another blown lead before hanging on for a 117-112 overtime victory at FTX Arena that prevented a three-game losing streak, after blowing similar leads against the Indiana Pacers and Portland Trail Blazers.
This time the lead was 15 in the first half and again in the third period.
And this time there again was a meltdown.
Ultimately, it took some of the best of Jimmy Butler, who closed with 35 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
Yes, the Heat were without guard Tyler Herro for a second consecutive game with an ankle sprain, but this was against a last-place team that entered on a six-game losing streak and had flown overnight after a Wednesday night home game.
Ultimately it came down to the type of late 3-pointer that Portland’s Josh Hart made on Monday night and Charlotte’s Terry Rozier missed at the end of overtime on this night.
Beyond Butler, the Heat got 18 points and 14 rebounds from Bam Adebayo, 14 points from Duncan Robinson and 12 from Max Strus.
Kelly Oubre Jr. led the Hornets with 29 points, supported by 22 from Rozier.
Five Degrees of Heat from Thursday’s game:
— 1. Overtime: The extra period opened tied 104-104, with it then again tied at 106-106 and 109-109, after a Butler three-point play with 3:08 remaining.
A Kyle Lowry jumper then put the Heat up 111-109, before P.J. Washington drove the lane for a 111-111 tie with 1:51 left.
Rozier then made one of two free throws after Adebayo made a pair, to leave the Heat with a 112-111 lead.
Misses followed on each end, as did a Butler 20-foot jumper with 15.7 seconds remaining.
That put Charlotte in possession down one with 14.8 seconds left, only to have Oubre called for traveling after receiving the inbounds pass.
The result was Heat guard Gabe Vincent sent to the line with 9 seconds to play, draining both for a 115-112 Heat advantage, with Rozier’s miss following.
— 2. Before overtime: The Heat led 32-27 at the end of the first period, pushed their lead to 15, went into halftime up 58-50, Then after their lead was trimmed to three in the third, they went into the fourth quarter up 85-73.
But as has been the case recently, it got shaky from there, with the Hornets taking a 90-89 lead with 6:50 remaining in regulation.
From there, a 3-pointer by Oubre put the Hornets up 98-93 with 3:57 to play in the fourth, before an 18-foot Butler jumper tied it 100-100 with 2:24 remaining in the fourth.
The game was again tied at 102-102, before Butler scored the second of his consecutive baskets for a 104-102 Heat lead with 36.4 seconds to play in regulation, only to see Dennis Smith Jr. tied it on a driving layup with 26.5 seconds left.
Butler then ran down most of the clock before he was called for an offensive foul with 5.2 seconds to play in the fourth, with Charlotte’s Rozier off on a 3-pointer at the regulation buzzer.
— 3. Timed takeover: After a somewhat passive three-point first half, Butler took a far more aggressive approach.
After converting his lone free-throw attempt in the first half, Butler shot 9 of 11 from the line in the third period, ending the quarter with 22 points.
But no sooner did Butler go to the bench, then the Hornets made their move at the start of the fourth.
It was a noteworthy night from the line. Butler’s fourth free-throw attempt was the 4,500th of his career. His seventh free throw moved him past Dennis Johnson for 88th on the NBA all-time list and his eighth pushed him past Dan Issel for 87th.
— 4. Robinson at home: Robinson continues to be on the mark at home games, this time converting an early pair from beyond the arc.
Robinson entered at .441% (15 of 34) on 3-pointers at FTX Arena this season.
Robinson not only scored from deep, but also off cuts and with his emerging floater.
With his third point, Robinson moved past Steve Smith for 23rd on the Heat all-time scoring list.
Capitalizing at moments such as these could lead to regular minutes once Herro returns (and possibly reestablish trade value).
— 5. Short again: Herro was sidelined for a second consecutive game by the sprained left ankle suffered during the first half of Friday’s road loss to the Indiana Pacers. With the Heat’s light scheduling, it gives him six days off if he returns in Saturday’s rematch against the Hornets.
Forward Caleb Martin, who had been listed as questionable pregame with a quad bruise, was in the Heat starting lineup, but his twin brother, Hornets forward Cody Martin, was unavailable due to a sore left quad.
The Hornets also were without Gordon Hayward (shoulder) and LaMelo Ball (ankle).
