As the sponsor of his room, the Heat almost collapsed once again at home! The Floridians almost left their arena with their heads down while Phoenix seemed to hold the game in hand, until the incredible finally happened!
The Heat had first taken control by relying on its external address, through Jimmy Butler first, then Caleb Martin, and Duncan Robinson twice (35-31). However, an unforeseen event disturbed the Florida mechanics: the remarkable entry of Duane Washington Jr! Committed to Phoenix in a “two-way contract”, the leader took by scoring the first 13 points for the Suns in the second quarter, including a nice 4/4 from afar (42-44). It then took a good passage from Gabe Vincent and the return to the top of the Lowry-Adebayo pair to allow the Heat to return to the locker room at +1 (58-57).
Phoenix still kept control after the break, this time with Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton to restore the advantage to the Arizona franchise. So much so that at the last second of the period, Jock Landale’s tap allowed Monty Williams’ troops to have a 7-point lead (84-91).
Devin Booker’s two baskets in a row and then Damion Lee’s three confirmed the trend at the start of the fourth quarter. Phoenix even rose to +13 following a basket from the indefatigable Torrey Craig (89-102), until Bam Adebayo sounded the revolt. The pivot multiplied the decisive actions of the two floors to bring his people back into the game almost single-handedly, completing an impressive 12-0 with an authoritarian two-handed dunk (101-102).
The money-time was then the business of cold-blooded shooters, between a Devin Booker on a mission and the Lowry-Martin tandem to answer him from afar. In the last minute, Bam Adebayo was invaluable in putting his team back in front with a short header with a basket following an offensive rebound and two shots (113-112). But on the last action, it was Jimmy Butler who came out on top thanks to his bribe defense on Devin Booker.
“Jimmy Buckets” first inflicted a block on the Suns star before defending on a regular basis, forcing the Phoenix back to take a complicated shot, which was ultimately missed.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Urgently. The Floridians have (again) been in the reaction and not in the action on this match. It was thus necessary to wait until they find themselves back against the wall to review the attitudes which make the strength of Miami in defense on the last 6-7 minutes of the match, when they had been rather amorphous until then, without reaction. It’s up to Erik Spoelstra to try to instil this sense of urgency, but permanently.
– Jimmy Butler, as a symbol. Jimmy Butler remains the leader and guarantor of the Heat’s state of mind, especially in terms of toughness. It is therefore quite natural that he took charge of defending Devin Booker on the last possession, and that he imposed his intensity to thwart his direct opponent. His two decisive defensive sequences in the final were remarkable, like the frank hug that followed with Erik Spoelstra.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Bam Adebayo. The Heat’s most consistent player in this game. Miami would never have won this match without the show of force deployed by the pivot on the 12-0 past shortly before the start of money-time, a moment during which he practically brought his team back into the match on his own. . His biggest attacking game of the season so far.
✅ Caleb Martin. The X factor of this match, by its activity in attack and defense and for its exterior address. In particular, he planted his 5th 3-point basket of the evening (out of 6 attempts) at a critical moment to allow his people to continue to believe in it.
✅ Duane Washington Jr.. The surprise of the chief on the side of Phoenix. In the absence of Chris Paul, his contribution was welcome. For him too, it’s his best game of the season. He will have missed only the victory.
⛔️ Cameron Payne. He’s taken the most shots behind Devin Booker…and that’s not the best formula for Phoenix. His 4/17 is a stain, especially in a meeting that is played at a small point.
THE FOLLOWING
Heat (7-7): Miami is back on the road, heading to Toronto to face the Raptors this Wednesday (01:30 a.m.)
Suns (8-5): Phoenix will receive the defending champion this Wednesday (04:00)
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