Heat falls to Warriors — and loses Jimmy Butler to injury. Takeaways from the loss
The Miami Heat, still playing without two of its three starters Monday, was well within striking distance of the Golden State Warriors in the third quarter when it ran into another setback.
Jimmy Butler crumpled to the ground with an apparent right foot injury and had to be helped off the court by a pair of his teammates. He headed into the locker room and never returned, and Miami couldn’t quite complete its comeback in San Francisco. The Heat fell 115-108, losing a second straight games for the first time in nearly a month.
Miami was only down 80-74 when Butler went down and Guy scored immediately after to cut the lead to 80-76.
The Heat never cut the lead any closer, though. Despite point guard Kyle Lowry’s best efforts, Miami never could quite close the gap with the Warriors, who won despite Stephen Curry going just 3 of 17 from the field.
Here are five takeaways from Miami’s loss at Oracle Arena:
Butler’s third-quarter ankle injury gives Heat another reason to worry.
The Heat was only down 80-74 in the third quarter against the Warriors when an injury scare for Butler effectively crushed Miami’s hopes at a comeback and perhaps dealt the team another blow just as it was starting to get healthy.
Butler tried to post up against Golden State forward Juan Toscano-Anderson from the right corner and planted his foot awkwardly while he tried to make his move to the basket. His foot jammed into the ground, sending the star forward tumbling to the floor. He winced and buried his face in his hands while his teammates gathered around him.
Eventually, he rose to his feet — or, more accurately, his left foot because he never was able to put any weight on his left foot, instead hopping into the locker while centers Chris Silva and Dewayne Dedmon propped him up.
It was, unfortunately for the Heat, not an unfamiliar sight. Butler missed three games with a sprained right ankle earlier this year and dealt with a nagging tailbone injury all throughout last month, missing 12 of 13 games before he finally got healthy and rejoined the lineup the day after Christmas.
Butler has now exited four games due to injury this year and has only played in 23 of Miami’s 38 games this season.
It’s a shame. He’s once again playing at an All-Star level and scored 22 points with five rebounds and three assists on 7-of-14 shooting. He also went 6 of 6 at the free-throw line, accounting for nearly half of Miami’s attempts.
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Led by Lowry, the Heat still battled.
Would anyone expect otherwise at this point? Miami was still missing two of its five starters Monday — and post player P.J. Tucker was relegated to a bench role in his return from the COVID-19 list — yet the Heat managed to lead at one point in the third quarter despite 10 first-half turnovers.
Butler kept Miami afloat early with 12 points and five rebounds, but Lowry was also instrumental with 10 points and four assists. The Heat also held Stephen Curry to seven points in the first half by getting him into foul trouble and holding him to 1 of 5 from three-point range.
It all kept the Warriors from ever running away, and then Butler and Lowry took turns managing the second half. Butler scored 10 points in the third quarter before exiting, then Lowry took the reins for the fourth quarter and had five points and two assists, even as he played most of the period with five fouls.
The Heat finished with five scorers in double figures, including one player on a 10-day contract and one on a two-way contract. It was looking like one of these suddenly familiar shorthanded Miami wins before Butler’s injury soured the ending.
The Heat’s fringe finds keep starring.
Point guard Kyle Guy -- the player on the 10-day contract -- scored 14 points and went 4 of 8 from three. Wing Caleb Martin -- the player on the two-way contract -- finished second on the team with 19 points. Center Omer Yurtseven, an undrafted rookie, even continued his double-digit rebound streak by grabbing 17.
For most of three quarters, they formed a supporting cast good enough to help Butler and Lowry knock off the best team in the league.
Miami went 17 of 42 and outshot Golden State from three. It outrebounded the Warriors, 49-43. Sure, the Heat was helped by an uncharacteristic nine-point performance from Curry, but Miami kept its winning formula intact: Let Butler and Lowry drive the offense, and have everyone else just do what they do best.
For Guy, it’s three-point shooting and he hit a pair early to get the Heat’s offense going after a sluggish start. For Yurtseven, it’s rebounding and he was still effective despite only scoring five points. Martin continues to just fit in no matter the role the Heat asks of him.
For now, they make a more than capable supporting cast.
Turnovers and defense killed Miami.
The Heat finished with 18 turnovers and let the Warriors shoot 48.9 percent despite Curry going just 3 of 17 from the floor.
Golden State wing Andrew Wiggins tormented Miami with 22 points. Warriors guard Jordan Poole poured in 32 off the bench. Golden State scored 27 fast-break points -- the Heat had just six -- and 58 in the paint.
Miami entered the day with the best paint defense in the league and the Warriors won by turning its strength into a weakness.
The Heat’s shooting got back on track.
When Miami won 6 of 8 without Butler and star post player Bam Adebayo last month, it did so by retooling its identity around three-point shooting and Lowry’s ability to generate perimeter look for any number of competent, fill-in role players.
The Heat set a franchise record with 229 threes in the month, shooting 40.2 percent from long-range and stringing together shorthanded victories.
When it lost to the Sacramento Kings on Sunday in California, Miami went just 9 of 33. On Monday, it went 17 of 42 to hang around until the final minutes.
With 6:01 left, guard Tyler Herro canned a three from the left corner to cut the Warriors’ lead to 106-98. Herro finished with 18 points and his offensive production was buoyed by four three-pointers.
Wing Caleb Martin went 3 of 5 from deep. Point guard Kyle Guy, playing on a 10-day contract, went 4 of 8. Even Butler went 2 of 3 before leaving with the injury.
The Heat doesn’t need to break records every month, but its performance in Sacramento was untenable. Miami is 9-20 since the start of last season when shooting worse than 30 percent from three. On Monday, it got back to shooting well enough to win.
Miami is (was?) getting close to full strength.
Tucker’s return Monday brought the Heat one step closer to whole as players are steadily returning from the COVID list.
Tucker came off the bench and played 28 minutes, but his return means three of Miami’s usual five starters were all healthy. While Butler’s health is now a question, there’s a real chance the Heat could be getting back toward full strength.
Monday was the first time the Heat had three of its five usual starters available in two and a half weeks, and the first time Butler got to play with multiple other starters in four weeks.
Butler missed all but four games in December with a tailbone injury. Star post player Bam Adebayo hasn’t played since November because of a thumb injury and still won’t play again for a few more weeks. Lowry, Tucker and Duncan Robinson have all spent time in COVID protocols in the last week.
Robinson’s return might not be far off, though. The wing has been in virus protocols since Thursday and, while every case is different, Tucker was able to return Monday after going into protocols Wednesday. Last Monday, the NBA changed its return-to-play policies, shortening the mandatory isolation period from 10 days to six, provided players are asymptomatic and meet other testing standards. The new rules mean Robinson could be eligible to rejoin the team as soon as Tuesday.
In the meantime, Miami has done more than tread water. Even with the loss Monday, the Heat has still won nine of its last 13, despite missing multiple starters in every one of those games.
