The Miami Heat traveled to the big apple to take on the new look Brooklyn Nets. Miami and Brooklyn are neck and neck right now for the 5th and 6th seeds in the Eastern Conference. The Nets came into this battle above Miami and looking to push that narrative, Miami wanted otherwise.
Finding Footing
Miami came out in the first quarter a little slow, and Brooklyn looked to push the pace with the addition of the younger players. Miami had to combat this by making sure they played their offense the way they knew. The Heat settled into a rhythm and found their footing, but the battle was far from over. Miami kept the offense scoring but their defense just couldn’t keep Brooklyn at bay. Going into halftime, Miami held onto a narrow five-point lead that would soon come to an end.
Second Half Woes
Miami looked to continue their hot shooting but fell short in the later quarters when Brooklyn proved to be too much for them. Bam Adebayo led the way for Miami, harboring 24 points and 13 boards while drawing fouls left and right. Superstar Jimmy Butler had one of his more lackluster games of the year. Simply, when Jimmy isn’t on his game, neither are the Heat.
Brooklyn Bridges
No one was hotter than young defensive phenom Mikal Bridges.
Bridges came over to Brooklyn in the recent acquisition that sent Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns. Bridges made it known that the Suns made a mistake by trading him.
Mikal is known for his defensive fortitude, but Wednesday night there was a flamethrower attached to his arm. Bridges had a career night, finishing with an outstanding 45 points on wildly efficient 17/24 shooting. Mikal truly caught fire in the fourth quarter with a barrage of three-pointers, crossovers, and gutsy basketball. Brooklyn had Miami’s number Wednesday and walked away with the victory.
Falling Back
This win pushes Miami into the seventh seed as the Knicks go into the all-star break with the sixth seed. Miami will look to re-center and rest up for the gritty schedule they have in the coming weeks.
Re-group and Re-center
Miami will be back in action on February 24th when they travel to Milwaukee to face off against the Greek Freak. For now, Heat fans will enjoy watching Tyler Herro in the three-point contest and Bam Adebayo in the All-Star Game taking place in Utah.