Erik Spoelstra
Getty
Miami Heat Head Coach Erik Spoelstra was honest when assessing his team's performance against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Miami Heat Head Coach Erik Spoelstra didn’t hold back on his team after the Heat lost their third consecutive game by double digits.
The Heat lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder 124-112 on January 11, and although they played well in spurts, the 12-point loss left Spoelstra wanting to see more from his team.
“We just have to be overall tougher with everything. Not just physical toughness,” Spoelstra said. “I felt like we brought physical toughness, but the mental toughness when the momentum starts to swing the other way. It doesn’t have to be a 14-2 run. It can be half … We didn’t respond well, but we will get better at that.”
The Heat led 59-54 at halftime, before the Thunder took control of the game with a +13 third quarter.
The Thunder led by as much as 20 points in the second half before the Heat emptied their bench at the end of the game.
Heat guard Norman Powell was ruled out with lower back soreness before the start of the game, and other players weren’t able to make up for his missing production.
Heat Center Bam Adebayo, who is in the midst of one of the coldest streaks of his career, finished with a season-low (not counting early injury exits) 6 points on 3-10 shooting.
While Adebayo struggled to score, Heat forward Andrew Wiggins led the team with 23 points on 7-10 from three-point range.
For the Thunder, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 29 points and 8 assists. Jalen Williams also finished with 18 points on 9-13 shooting.
Miami Heat End Road Trip Going Winless
Bam Adebayo
GettyThe Miami Heat ended a three-game road stretch going winless.
The Miami Heat will head back to the Kaseya Center after a three-game road trip in which the team went 0-3.
In losses to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Indiana Pacers and Minnesota Timberwolves, the Heat lost by a combined 64 points.
Despite a deflating road trip, Erik Spoelstra is hopeful to pick up some momentum during the Heat’s next few games.
“We know we have a very important week,” Spoelstra said. “This road trip didn’t go the way we wanted it to, for a lot of different factors. We have a great opportunity this week at home. 3 good, competitive opponents.”
The Heat will open their three-game home stretch against the Phoenix Suns, before facing the Boston Celtics and a rematch with the Thunder.
Picking up one or two wins against teams in playoff contention could be what the Heat needs to get back in rhythm.
“Just realize all the good things we did today and carry that on,” Heat guard Pelle Larsson said. “Obviously, we wanna keep scoring more points so we gotta run more, take care of the ball more and get stops.”
Note: The Miami Heat Made History, but not in a Good Way
The Miami Heat’s offense has failed them in many of their losses this season, but that wasn’t the case against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
This is the first Heat game since 1991 in which the Heat lost by double digits while shooting 50% or more from three, and their opponent finished with under 30% from three.
As a team, the Heat shot 54% from the field and 53% from three. It was the Heat’s highest three-point percentage in a game this season.