In the midst of a monstrous seven-game home stand, the Miami Heat welcomed the Phoenix Suns into FTX Arena for their third consecutive home game. Announced before the game, Jimmy Butler missed the contest due to a non-COVID illness. His return should be right around the corner, but without him, the Heat were in for a challenge against the NBA’s best team.
Recap
Miami got off to a decent start in the first half. Trailing at the end of the first quarter by two, the Heat tied the Suns in the second quarter to take the aforementioned two-point deficit into halftime. From there, Phoenix completely took over the game. The Heat scored 19 and 16 in the third and fourth quarters, respectively, and the Suns scored 54 points in the second half. The game got away from the Heat in the end, and the final score reflected that, 111-90.
While the Heat were without Butler, it was still a pretty rough loss against a Chris Paul-less Suns team. Miami did take it to Phoenix in their only other matchup this season, but the Suns got their revenge in a huge way tonight. Miami finished under 40% from the field and connected on only 10 of their 33 triples.
Duncan Robinson led the way with 22 points and six of those triples. He was one of the few bright spots in the starting lineup. Going small in the starting five, Kyle Lowry and Gabe Vincent combined to shoot 3-13 and finished with 10 points total. Even though Lowry didn’t rack up many points, he did have 10+ assists for the 16th time this season.
Tyler Herro continued his run of scoring off the bench; however, this game featured a much rougher shooting night for the young shooter. He ended 7-20 from the field.
Up Next
The Heat continue their string of home affairs on Friday, March 11, against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs are riding a two-game winning streak, so it is bound to be a nail-biter on Friday evening.