Five takeaways from the Heat’s 124-112 loss to the Thunder on Sunday in Oklahoma City:
▪ Ahead by five at halftime, the Heat unraveled in the third quarter and never fully recovered, losing to the defending champions to complete an 0-3 road trip.
Miami played well early, taking a 59-54 lead into the break before being undone by turnovers and deficient board work, a torrent of OKC threes and the greatness defending MVP Shae Gilgeous-Alexander, who fueled a 15-0 third quarter run to put the Thunder ahead by 13.
Miami drew to within 93-85 to end the third but drew no closer in the fourth.
Gilgeous Alexander - one of only two players in the NBA averaging 30-plus points (with the Lakers’ Luka Doncic) - struggled against the Heat’s swarming defense early, shooting 1 for 7 in a three-point third quarter and going to the half with 11. But he caught fire with a 16-point third quarter and closed with 29.
This was a rare case where a team shot exceptionally and was still blown out.
Miami made 54 percent of its shots from the field, including 53 percent on threes. This was the best that Miami shot in a loss.
The great neutralizer was virtually everything else, particularly turnovers.
The Heat was careless with the ball against a team that leads the league in forced turnovers (18 per game). Some of Miami’s 23 turnovers were a function of OKC’s attacking defense, but others were simply careless, including an over-and-back violation by Jaime Jaquez and Dru Smith and Pelle Larsson passes to nobody in particular. Miami was outscored 39 to 20 in points off turnovers.
What’s more, OKC outrebounded the Heat by eight and outscored the Heat 24-0 on second chance baskets over the game’s first 44 minutes. On the offensive boards, the margin was 13-5.
This was another night where the Heat’s best players couldn’t measure up with the opponent’s top players.
Bam Adebayo mustered just 6 on 3 for 10 shooting. Tyler Herro scored 19 on 7 for 15 shooting but is now just 3 for his last 21 on three-pointers since returning from a toe injury.
Andrew Wiggins did his part with 23 points, including a season-high seven three-pointers on 10 attempts -- one short of his career high for made threes.
Pelle Larsson again played well in a starting role, with 16 points, three rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block.
Davion Mitchell added 13 points, hitting all three of his three-point attempts.
▪ As is usually the case, the Heat was short-handed.
This time, it was Norman Powell sitting out because of back soreness.
Powell has now missed six games, and Miami is 2-4 without him.
With Powell sidelined, the Heat opened with Bam Adebayo, Wiggins, Davion Mitchell, Tyler Herro and Larsson. That starting group is now 0-2.
Spoelstra opted for Larsson over Kel’el Ware, and that move paid dividends.
Larsson, as usual, was a bottle of energy, scoring on a mix of jumpers and cuts to the basket and defending with fiestiness. He drew his team-leading eighth and ninth charges.
Miami entered 12-6 with Larsson starting, and his good work with the first group will leave Erik Spoelstra with a decision to make.
▪ Bam Adebayo’s offensive swoon continued.
While the Heat captain continues to play exemplary defense and rebounding (14 on Sunday), his offensive regression has reached alarming levels.
He went 1 for 4 in a two-point first half en route to finishing with six points, his lowest point total in a game that he played more thsn 13 minutes.
Sunday was the 11th consecutive game that Adebayo failed to reach 20 points.
He entered Sunday with five or fewer baskets in a game in his past eight and has now shot 5 for 14, 5 for 13, 5 for 14, 3 for 11, 5 for 12 and 3 for 10 in six games since the third week of December.
He’s averaging eight points in the paints and 16 points per game – both lows this decade. Part of that is the byproduct of the revamped offense not playing to his strengths. But errant shooting is also in play here. ▪ For a half, this was a far better effort than Saturday’s 123-99 debacle against the Pacers. But it was a dismal second half and a dreadful road trip overall.
Everything looks better when you’re making shots. After hitting just 4 of 30 threes against the Pacers, Miami opened 4 for 4 from distance, shot 8 for 16 on threes in the first half and finished 17 for 32 from distance.
But this went far beyond shooting early. The defensive activity and competitive spirit were far better against the league’s best team, a night after Miami came up woefully short in both of those areas against the league’s worst team.
But after leading by as many as nine in the first half, the Heat collapsed in the second half, and the result was a third consecutive lopsided loss.
That 15-0 third quarter run was a killer. It featured two threes by Isaiah Joe, seven points from Gilgeous-Alexander, two missed free throws by Adebayo, a travel by Jaquez and multiple missed shots.
This road trip couldn’t have gone worse. Miami lost by 28 in Minnesota, had a game canceled in Chicago because of condensation on the floor, lost by 24 on Saturday against the injury-riddled Pacers and Sunday’s death by 1000 paper cuts.
After beginning the season 14-7, Miami is 6-12 since.
▪ The schedule remains difficult, and Miami (20-19) is now in peril of falling below .500.
Though the Heat is returning home for three games, Miami won’t be heavily favored to win any of them. Phoenix, the league’s biggest surprise, visits Tuesday, followed by home games against the Celtics and Thunder again.
Miami then goes West for a five-game trip.
Sunday’s loss left Miami eighth in the Eastern Conference – 1 1/2 games behind No. 7 Cleveland and 2 1/2 ahead of No. 11 Milwaukee.