Sunday evening the Miami HEAT were on the 2nd night of a back to back playing the best team in the league; the defending champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder. The HEAT were embarrassed in Indiana on Saturday night losing to the Pacers, the worst team in the league by 24 points. Miami Gaurd Norm Powell was ruled out of the game & did not play. 

Early in the 1st quarter the HEAT were looking sharp offensively. They came out moving the ball well & knocking down their 3s. 

Ira Winderman tweeted, “A night after 4 of 30 on 3s in Indy, Heat open 3 of 3 on 3s.”

Both teams were playing tough & somewhat competitively back & forth on offense & defense. The HEAT offense was the one on top, pacing the 1st quarter with quality shot making & drives that HEAT players actually finished on. Tyler Herro & Andrew Wiggins powered the HEAT offense thru the 1st quarter. Oklahoma City finished the quarter closing the gap on a 14-2 run before Miami added 5 quick points at the end of one.

After going up nine early, wHeat led 34-32 in OKC after the first period. Wiggins had nine points for Heat.

In the start of the 2Q, the Thunder turned up their intensity & took the lead on attacking the basket & making hustle plays.

Soon after that run for Oklahoma, Miami tightened up & took control of the game, pushing the lead slightly up in their favor. 

Heat 59, Thunder 54 at the half in OKC. Pelle Larsson & Andrew Wiggins had 11 points apiece.

Five Reasons Sports Tweeted, “Strong half for the Heat (up 59-54) but can they sustain it? Larsson and Wiggins with 11 each. The Heat continue to be more competitive when Larsson starts.”

Couper Moorhead Tweeted, “Really is the most Heat thing ever to have a half like that after a game like last night. Aside from the 3pt splits, which are obviously severe, teams are tied with 32 paint points but Heat making a ton of floaters while Thunder getting to the rim far more often.”

In the 3Q both teams were keeping it close. There was good basketball being played back & forth to start the quarter. 

OKC Star, Shai Gilgeous Alexander started getting hot & in rhythm in the 3Q as he paced the Thunder to their biggest lead of the game. Oklahoma went on a 15-0 run & broke the game wide open after it was close as nip & tuck all game.

It was Thunder 93, Heat 85 going into the fourth quarter. Gilgeous-Alexander  had 27 points for the Thunder & the Heat had no player with more than Larsson's 15 points. 

In the 4Q, OKC was killing Miami on 2nd chance opportunities, which are the most efficient scoring chances in the game. Halfway thru the 4th quarter it was 22-0 OKC on 2nd chance points.

The Thunder put a lot of pressure on the HEAT & ran away with the game with their defense to transition game & their efficiency in the half court offense. Miami led at halftime but the Thunder dominated the second half. Miami has now lost 3 in a row & have a tough week coming up.

Miami's shooting bounced back, but that only led to this being the first time since 1991 that Miami lost a game by double digits in which they shot 50%+ from three and their opponent finished sub-30%.

Plus, the Thunder flip the paint points.

Coup’s Takeaways:

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