On nights when the roster is missing key players, Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra usually believes his team has enough to win, regardless of who their opponent is.
Despite missing three starters in Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and Haywood Highsmith, the Heat got enough contributions from their role players to earn a 112-103 victory against the Toronto Raptors Wednesday night.
The Heat stormed out to a 22-7 lead in the first quarter and were lead by Caleb Martin who had 15 points in the first quarter. Martin finished the half with 23 points, which is the most Martin has scored in a half for his career.
Caleb Martin’s Goat’d First Half! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/R80pDAuerW
— Heat Lead 🔥 (@HeatLead) December 7, 2023
But even with Martin exploding, the Heat found themselves trailing at half 66-64, and appeared to be heading into another high-scoring fast paced game similar to their last two outings against the Indiana Pacers.
"We just mentioned at halftime whatever team would get a hold of the defensive side of the floor would win this game," Spoelstra said.
After another rough defensive outing in the first half, Miami was finally able to flex its muscles on defense, holding Toronto scoreless until the 5:34 mark of the third quarter.
Miami was able to gain a 14 point advantage, leading 80-66. But another Toronto rally evened the game at 87 in the fourth quarter.
In most instances, the Heat would usually surrender a big lead and collapse in the fourth quarter. But on Wednesday night, the Robinsons (Duncan and Orlando, starting in Adebayo's place) made sure the Heat walked out of Scotiabank arena with a victory.
After Scottie Barnes nailed a triple to erase Miami's lead, Duncan Robinson hit Orlando Robinson with a bounce pass leading to an and-1 to put Miami back up by three.
Later in the game, Duncan Robinson scored on back-to-back possessions, hitting a 3 coming off an Orlando Robinson screen and shortly after hitting a floater off the glass to put Miami up 97-87.
In the fourth quarter, the Robinsons combined for 19 of the Heat's 25 points and also matched the Raptors point total for the fourth quarter.
Orlando Robinson finished with his first ever double-double, recording 15 points and 12 rebounds to go along with three steals and one block.
On the flip side, Duncan Robinson finished with 21 points and seven assists with zero turnovers. Early in Duncan's career, scoring 21 points would usually come from hitting seven threes. In this instance, Robinson only converted three from downtown.
For Duncan Robinson to still score over 20 points without hitting a barrage of 3-pointers highlights his evolution, showing he can impact the game offensively in a multitude of ways, not just from behind the arc.
It's always demoralizing to find out that there are multiple key players out for a game, but winning a game with a shorthanded roster can also be a boost. That's what the Heat got Wednesday.