OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma City Thunder were unable to snap their three-game losing streak as the Miami Heat escaped with a second consecutive road win, 110-108.
As was the case for the Thunder in their loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, the 3-point shot was the Heat’s friend on Wednesday. Overall, the Heat went 24-of-56 (42.9%) from outside, but most of their damage was done in the first half when they shot 16-of-29 (55.2%) — a franchise record for the Heat.
Trailing by as many as 21 points, the Thunder appeared headed to a rare blowout loss. But after halftime, the Thunder limited the Heat’s damage from outside; they went 8-of-27 (29.6%) from 3. The Thunder used a 32-22 third-quarter advantage to make it a competitive contest that came down to the final possessions.
Which deserves its own article if we’re being honest. Because oh boy — did a lot transpire in the final 25 seconds of this one.
With 25.1 seconds left, Tyler Herro took up the Jimmy Butler role and was given the chance to win the game for the Heat. As he began to drain the clock with a series of dribbles, Herro worked his way to the right side of the court and hit a contested 19-foot pull-up jumper despite Aaron Wiggins being on his grill.
35 POINTS AND THE GAME-WINNER FOR TYLER HERRO ♨️ pic.twitter.com/b8qrIG9QQ5
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) December 15, 2022
The shot quieted the crowd. The Thunder had 5.1 seconds to work with to either send the game to overtime or win on a buzzer beater.
Instead, what transpired was a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed shot with questionable contact that went uncalled and a Josh Giddey reverse layup that ended with him on the ground too.
By the time the game clock hit 0.0, Gilgeous-Alexander and Giddey were both on the ground petitioning for a shooting foul.
Alas, the refs bit their tongue and the Heat escaped with the two-point win as the crowd began to boo the officials. Victor Oladipo tackled Herro and the Heat celebrated a close win without their best player.
After the game, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault refused to blame the officials and said the crew is too experienced to question their competency.
“Here’s what I’ll say about that. In all honesty, Ed (Malloy), Brent (Barnaky), Leon (Wood) — those guys have done (over) 3,000 career games and have done 175 playoff games. And we do not get crews like that.
“That’s probably the most experienced, seasoned, trustworthy crew that we’ve had all year. And it’s one of the most trustworthy crews and experienced crews that we’ve had in two years. And I’m not going to complain about them one bit because we’ll take a crew of that experience level, we’ll take every night. We’ll take them again Friday. We’ll take them again Saturday. And they’re always going to miss plays, but you can’t replace having a steady hand on the game. I appreciate that — especially the last couple of years. I hope they’re here again Friday.”
In the end, the Thunder failed to complete the comeback and lost to the Heat, 110-108 and their losing streak extends to four games.
For the Heat, Herro led the way as he scored 35 points on 12-of-23 shooting and an absurd 9-of-17 shooting from 3. Bam Adebayo had 15 points and 13 rebounds. Kyle Lowry had 14 points and six assists.
Let’s take a look at Thunder player grades.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: B-plus
For the most part, the Heat’s exotic looks on defense did a fine job of limiting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s night.
In 36 minutes, Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 27 points on 10-of-20 shooting to go along with seven assists and eight rebounds. Gilgeous-Alexander was especially held in check in the second half, when he scored 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting.
Gilgeous-Alexander had a chance to tie or take the lead at the end of the game, but his shot attempt clanked off the side of the backboard, and he fell to the ground without the officials blowing a whistle.
On replay, it can be seen Caleb Martin hit Gilgeous-Alexander during his shooting motion.
Was there contact at the end? Gilgeous-Alexander thinks so.
“I thought I felt contact. But I guess the refs didn’t think so.”
It’s an ironic way to end the game. Gilgeous-Alexander, who’s been a huge benefactor of officials as he’s fourth in the league in free-throw attempts per game, did not receive a call he usually gets during any other point of the game.
The L2M report for this game will certainly be a fun read.
That fadeaway is pure 🤌 pic.twitter.com/W4QkrqxJxe
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 15, 2022
SGA with a steal and score to add to an 8-0 run pic.twitter.com/v8Yg8VpfnL
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 15, 2022
Solid attack and finish from SGA pic.twitter.com/VFzJNmq1QB
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 15, 2022
Josh Giddey: B-plus
This was a solid night for the Thunder’s starting backcourt. Josh Giddey nearly finished with a triple-double: 19 points on 9-of-15 shooting, 11 rebounds and seven assists in 36 minutes.
Giddey finished with a team-high plus-15.
Just like Gilgeous-Alexander, Giddey had his own version of a controversial non-call at the end. He collected the offensive rebound and attempted a reverse layup that missed to end the game.
Giddey fell shortly after the ball left his hands as Dewayne Dedmon had his hand on his back. Unfortunately for the Thunder, the referees decided to swallow their whistles and let the final play of regulation play out.
Once the final buzzer sounded, Giddey was irate and demanded an explanation from the referees as to why he wasn’t getting free throws. On replay, it certainly looked like Dedmon touched Giddey’s back as he went for the reverse layup.
Baze finds Giddey down low! pic.twitter.com/vJ0jn7JvM6
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 15, 2022
Lu Dort: B-plus
After struggling last time out with his 3-point shot, Lu Dort had a much better outing at home against the Heat. Against the Mavericks, Dort shot 3-of-11 from the field and 1-of-6 from 3.
In 34 minutes against the Heat, Dort finished with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting and went 4-of-7 from 3. The four three-pointers were a season-high for Dort.
Dort tied James Harden for most made 3s by a Thunder player as his career total sits at 320. Dort will likely pass Harden next game for fourth-most made 3s by a Thunder player in franchise history.
Darius Bazley: B
With the Thunder missing several wing players, Darius Bazley was given his first start of the season.
Kenrich Williams was out due to a knee sprain. Ousmane Dieng was out due to G League assignment. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl was out due to an ankle sprain that will likely cost him extended time as Daigneault said his injury is more week-to-week than day-to-day.
With the amount of bodies out, Bazley received the starting nod.
To Bazley’s credit, after playing a career low in minutes this season, he did a fine job when the Thunder needed solid play from their frontcourt spots.
In 31 minutes, Bazley finished with 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting and grabbed five rebounds. Bazley was a plus-13, the second-best mark on the Thunder.
The dime ➡️ the slam 😤@OGandE Power Play of the Game pic.twitter.com/Ut6ZjDJtlf
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 15, 2022
SGA remains calm ➡️ Baze sneaks in to throw it down pic.twitter.com/aSO5vp3fMa
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) December 15, 2022
