Heat get major contributions from two stars and surprising source in 2OT thriller

The Miami Heat's rollercoaster season saw more twists and turns on Monday. After the front office's decision to suspend Jimmy Butler indefinitely and falling behind by 14 points to the Orlando Magic at Kaseya Center, the team's leaders and surprising rookie stepped up.

They responded with a gritty and impressive double-overtime victory over the in-state rival Orlando Magic, 125-119. From down 14 in the fourth quarter, Miami’s resiliency was on full display. Led by the trio of Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo and Kel’el Ware, the team rallied for one of their more inspired wins of the season.

Herro recorded a game-high 30 points to go along with a season-high 12 assists and eight rebounds. He continues to make his case for his first All-Star nod, with reserves being announced Thursday night.

As for the success of the Heat’s revamped frontcourt, Adebayo tallied a 26/10/9 near triple-double outing on 10 of 15 shooting. Ware, although battling through foul trouble most of the game, still found a way to make a dominant impact. The 7-foot rookie added 19 points and 10 rebounds on seven of eight from the field overall.

Coach Erik Spoelstra may have unlocked the lineup of the future.

But the biggest factor from Miami’s thrilling win came with another new lineup experiment from coach Erik Spoelstra.

Not only has Spoelstra gone big with Ware playing alongside Adebayo, but he has now discovered the next level with Nikola Jovic’s insertion in that lineup. The 6-foot-10 forward provides even more versatile size and length to supplement the newly formed duo. 

Jovic contributed with 15 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals— including a clutch 3-pointer towards the end of regulation.

It has been intriguing to see Spoelstra put out a big lineup after years of small ball throughout the timeline of this current Heat build. And the players seem to all be on board with the new strategy. 

The results were just as encouraging as it appeared from the eye test. The Adebayo and Ware minutes sported a 115.3 offensive rating, to go along with a 68.3 defensive rating. That duo outscored the Magic by 27 points in their time on the court together— they looked like Miami’s best lineup and it had the statistics to justify proving so. 

Spoelstra’s insertion of Jovic into the unit is an adjustment that is possible with the outside shooting capabilities, and floor spreading threats, of Herro and Duncan Robinson around them.

Ware is also now shooting a terrific 42.6% on 3-point attempts this season after finishing against Orlando, going a perfect 4 for 4 from beyond the arc. His skill set has been enticing enough to change the entire dynamic of this Heat rotation moving forward. And Adebayo seems to have benefited from it in the increased versatility of his own game, as expected. 

This Butler-less group was given an opportunity to carry over some momentum and it worked in their favor. They will now face their next tough task with hosting the top seed Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night to continue this current two-game win streak.