MIAMI — The Miami Heat was on the ropes in the fourth quarter Monday.
When it mattered most, the stars came through.
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The Heat erased a 13-point lead in the final eight minutes against the Phoenix Suns, getting 12 points from Bam Adebayo, a clutch three-pointer from Kyle Lowry and a game-winning block from Jimmy Butler to pull out a 113-112 win in Miami
Here are five takeaways from the thrilling win in South Florida.
Adebayo, Butler and Lowry came through in the end.
With 7:44 left, the Heat (7-7) was down 102-89 and running out of time for a final push.
Butler checked in and the game immediately flipped.
Miami closed the game on 24-10 run to down the Suns.
It started with Adebayo, who finished with 30 points and 10 rebounds to outduel Phoenix center Deandre Ayton.
Miami began the run with 12 straight points and its star post player scored eight of them to trip the Suns’ lead to 102-101.
From there, it was a possession-by-possession battle. Phoenix scored and Butler answered with two free throws. Miami got a stop, and then the Suns and Heat traded turnovers.
Butler got a good look from baseline with about three minutes left, but his jumper rimmed out and All-Star wing Devin Booker came back on the other end for a tough and-one jumper to push the Suns’ lead back to 107-103 with 2:43 remaining.
Back-to-back threes for forward Caleb Martin and Lowry, however, put Miami back ahead and Adebayo finally gave the Heat its game-winning points when he got the line and made two free throws with 35 seconds left.
The Heat then won with defense. Booker had the ball in his hands with 10 seconds left and challenged Butler.
It didn’t work. The All-Star forward blocked Booker’s first shot and then forced him into an off-balance three at the buzzer. It went off line and Miami hung on to hit .500 for the first time in the 2022-23 NBA season.
Butler finished with 16 points, 13 rebounds, seven rebounds, one block and one steal.
The Heat’s defense kept the Suns alive — then sealed the win.
Miami nearly wasted a 35-point first quarter by letting the Suns erupt for 33 points in the third quarter, but the Heat clamped down when it mattered most to finish off Phoenix.
In the third quarter, Miami let Phoenix shoot 15 of 28 from the field. In the fourth, the Suns scored just 21 points and the only points of their final 10 at the rim came when Phoenix forward Torrey Craig follwoed his own shot.
The Suns only made two threes in the fourth quarter, too. Six of their nine field goals in the fourth were mid-range jumpers.
The Heat starts strong, too.
Miami opened up on fire and needed every one of those 35 first-quarter points.
On the very first possession, Lowry drove and kicked out to Martin for a three-pointer. On the next two, Butler finished a tough layup through contact and then hit a three. Star post player Bam Adebayo then hit a hook shot and Butler made two free throws to give the Heat an early 14-7 lead.
Miami scored on each of its first six possessions and kept up the hot shooting throughout the entire first quarter.
The Heat drilled seven threes in the opening period, going 7 of 10 from beyond the arc for its most threes in a single period all season.
It only, however, yielded a 35-31 lead and it was gone by the time time 7:49 remained in the second quarter. Washington drilled his fourth three of the game — playing expanded minutes because of All-Star point guard Chris Paul was out with an injury, he opened 6 of 7 from the field for 16 points — and coach Erik Spoelstra took a timeout with his Heat down 44-42.
All in all, it was another game of flashes for Miami, but the Heat still can’t put together a full 48 minutes.
Tyler Herro’s injury keeps lingering.
The Heat isn’t panicking, but Tyler Herro’s high ankle sprain is now lingering into a second week as the guard missed his fourth straight game Monday.
Miami again listed Herro as questionable before ruling him out ahead of tipoff.
Spoelstra insists it’s not anything more serious than the Heat originally anticipated.
“You just never know with ankle sprains,” the coach said. “They’re never on necessarily your timeline, so he just doesn’t have the mobility yet, but he’s getting better. He’s making progress.”
With Herro out, wing Max Strus again rejoined the starting lineup and this time he struggled, following up a 31-point explosion Saturday with just five points. He started 0 of 6 from the field — and 0 of 4 from three-point range — before finally making his first shot with 10:43 left in the game.
The road ahead is not easy.
The Heat stabilized itself by winning 5 of 6 at home in the last two weeks. Now it gets tough again.
Miami hits the road for four in a row — and eight of its next 10 — Wednesday and none of the next four are gimmes. The Toronto Raptors are likely a playoff time, the Washington Wizards and Minnesota Timberwolves are both postseason contenders, and the Cleveland Cavaliers suddenly appear to have legitimate championship aspirations.
