Heat fight hard in comeback but Philly wins

It was after a game at the Oklahoma City Thunder where they led at the half. Then they ended up losing by 12 points. The team had appeared to “turn the corner” at the All-Star break with Coach Spoelstra saying as much about the team.

Poor showings against Milwaukee and Philadelphia

But, in two games this week against Milwaukee and Philadelphia, the team is uneven in its approach to competition. The Heat showed their competitive spirit against Philadelphia at the start of the third quarter. They were down 59-73 at the start and tied the score at 89 with under two minutes.

They tied the score at 99, again at 112 and at 117 in the fourth quarter. Then the team made a critical mistake — Tyler Herro rushed an off-balance layup with 14 seconds left on the shot clock down 1 point. The Sixers rebounded and Kelly Oubre hit a three-point shot to put the Sixers up four. The Heat tried to hit three-point shots in desperation but the possession previous could’ve been better planned.

Three-Point hunting against Milwaukee

The Heat were up 116-114 against Milwaukee late in the fourth. Kevin Porter Jr. did get a fantastic four-point play to pull the Bucks ahead by two. The Heat started to “three-point” hunt while the Bucks relied on higher percentage possessions. Andrew Wiggins missed a three-point shot and the teams exchanged misses. Then, Kevin Porter Jr. scored on a layup to put the Bucks up by four.

Norman Powell missed a three-point field goal on the next possession, Porter missed a step-back jumper but Bam took another three-pointer and missed. Ryan Rollins scored on a pull up jump shot to put the Bucks up six with 1:52. Tyler Herro tried and missed another three-point shot. Ryan Rollins scored on a jumper to put the Bucks up by eight.

Houston comes to Miami

The young Heat players appear to have a problem similar to young boxers that wear themselves out trying too hard to knock out an opponent. The team begins to wear out and the opponents continue to play. Finally, they make a big shot (like the Porter Jr. four-point play) and BOOM. Their psyche is damaged.

Ok, well, there’s no other teacher than experience against third-seeded Houston on Saturday.