Entering any game without Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo automatically makes the Miami Heat underdogs. That’s exactly what happened on Saturday night. Oh, wait! Miami was also facing the 30-8 Phoenix Suns (1st in the NBA) on the road.
Despite everything that favored the Suns, the Miami Heat came out and dominated at Footprint Center.
Tyler Herro had a game-high 33 points on 12-of-20 shooting from the field. Herro also had five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Duncan Robinson had arguably his best game of the 2021-22 season, recording a season-high 27 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field and 8-of-16 shooting from downtown. Kyle Lowry, meanwhile, had 14 points and 13 assists.
Omer Yurtseven, Miami’s hidden gem/rookie, recorded only seven points. However, Yurtseven’s much-needed impact came on the boards. The 23-year-old center from Turkey recorded 16 rebounds. He has now recorded 15+ rebounds in four consecutive games. The last rookie to have such a streak was Shaquille O’Neal in 1993. Also, Yurtseven has now tied Blake Griffin with 10 straight 12+ rebounds games, the longest rookie streak since 1992.
For the Suns, Devin Booker and Mikal Bridges scored 26 and 20 points respectively. Veteran Chris Paul only had nine points and seven assists. Paul is currently averaging 10.0 APG, which leads the NBA.
Overall, it was a dominant win for Miami. The Heat had 33 assists, the second-most this season. Miami also had a franchise-record 15 made threes in the first half.
Next Up
Miami will play the Atlanta Hawks for the next two games (on Wednesday, January 12th and Friday, January 14th).
(Featured image by Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports)