Detroit is a nightmare for the Miami Heat. Last night the team lost its second overtime game versus the Pistons. On November 12, Miami and Detroit played an “old school NBA” game. Several players went out with injuries in the game. Tyler Herro shocked the NBA world with his game performance. Detroit played very well. Erik Spoelstra had a very large “brain fart” at a critical moment in the game. Terry Rozier missed a defensive assignment and quietly didn’t accept blame.
Last night, it was different but the same. The Pistons jumped out to a 19 point lead in the third quarter. The Heat were down late, as much as 14 points with 5:28 in the fourth. Tyler Herro came to the rescue, hitting clutch shots. He hit a three pointer with five seconds left to tie the game at 114.
Jimmy Butler and Herro for Heat
Jimmy Butler finished the game with 35 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists. He took a contested layup shot late in the overtime that was low percentage. But, he had a fantastic game. Butler dodged press attention last week with trade speculation. He was “trolling the press” by wearing different braids in his hair that match the teams on his trade list.
Tyler Herro finished with 23 points on 25 shots. He hit three straight three pointers to tie the game late for the Heat. He scored 13 points in the fourth quarter but none in the overtime. Butler and Herro were the offense for the Heat and needed more help.
Cade Cunningham and Hardaway shine
Cade Cunningham also had a triple-double in the game. He is the new Pistons single game leader for assists. He defended Jimmy Butler well on the contested layup. The Pistons outrebounded Miami by 8 (52-44) and that is always a key to beating the Heat. Tim Hardaway Jr. hit three straight three point shots when the Pistons were down by 8 in overtime. That was huge and exhausted the Heat players.
Tobias Harris was out for the Pistons but Ausar Thompson stepped in and scored 19 points. He took the defensive assignment on Tyler Herro and stuck him for most of the game. Malik Beasley was the game high scorer and stepped up because Jaden Ivey was out with a knee injury.
Pistons have the Heat’s number
Did the Pistons win the game, or did the Heat lose? That is the question anytime two teams play close games with one another. It’s twice that the Pistons have pulled out a close victory. The answer is that the Pistons are trending up. The Heat are trending down. The Heat fall behind greatly at one point in the game. Then they make a furious comeback. Obviously, they will run out of steam to complete the comeback. The Heat now play Oklahoma City on Friday at the Kaseya Center.
