The Miami Heat welcomed the pesky Kings into American Airlines on Martin Luther King Day. Could they pull out a win after losing on Sunday?
After losing to the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday, the very best thing for this thriving and still blossoming Miami Heat team was to be back on the court as soon as they could. Fortunately for them, their opportunity would come on Monday as they welcomed the Sacramento Kings into their building for a Martin Luther King Day midevening matchup.
For starters, it was announced earlier in the afternoon that Jimmy Butler would be out of the game due to hip soreness. Breaking just hours before the game, the circumstances surrounding the injury were vague, so that is a situation to monitor.
Team says no specific incident caused Butler injury. Spoelstra, "You have to be able to pivot in this league." https://t.co/BIehQ02a13
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) January 20, 2020
The game was back and forth for most of it, with the Miami Heat really allowing themselves to get into some scary situations throughout. They were eventually able to pull out the overtime victory and in a very impressive fashion.
They were able to capture the victory after taking it to overtime on a brilliant play from Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo. Dragic hit Adebayo with a pinpoint pass from the inbounding position for a game-tying layup with just seconds left in regulation.
There are really two things you like about this win for the Miami Heat more than any others. The first thing is the way they stepped up knowing that they were down a guy. This is further magnified by the fact that it isn’t just any guy, but it’s your main guy in Jimmy Butler.
James Johnson really stepped his game up in a big way on Monday, as the Miami Heat needed every bit of what he gave them. Other players like Kelly Olynyk, Kendrick Nunn, and Goran Dragic also took on a very visible increased level of responsibility as well and that’s just something you love to see when your team isn’t at full health.
The second thing is that you saw them be able to pull themselves out of out madness and calm things down. For the majority of this season, Jimmy Butler has been that guy to calm and settle the Heat in times of confusion. He wasn’t there today, but they still found a way to navigate and overcome those scenarios, eventually resulting in a win.
The Miami Heat will get a one day break before facing the Washington Wizards on Wednesday. Welcoming them into Miami, they will have a chance and are surely looking forward to paying them back for that embarrassing loss just a few weeks ago. We sure hope so and we can’t wait to see it!