The definition of insanity has become the definition of the Miami Heat’s season.
They continue to bang their heads against the wall in close, compelling, competitive games.
And they somehow have made it work.
A night after a home victory over the Houston Rockets was decided on a dunk off an inbounds play with seven-tenths of a second to play, the Heat this time required overtime Saturday night before escaping the Orlando Magic, 107-103, at Amway Center.
Down 17 early and behind by double-digits midway through the fourth quarter, the Heat found a way to move a season-best seven games over .500, at 32-25.
It was the Heat’s league-leading 40th “clutch” game of the season, a game within five points at any stage of the final five minutes.
The Heat got 23 points from Tyler Herro, 22 from Jimmy Butler and 20 from Gabe Vincent, as well as 13 points and 17 rebounds from Bam Adebayo.
With the win, the Heat moved within 1 1/2 games of the Brooklyn Nets for the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Five Degrees of Heat from Saturday’s game:
— 1. Closing time: Vincent opened the overtime scoring with a 3-pointer, giving the Heat their first lead of the night.
Consecutive baskets by Herro, playing with five fouls since midway through the fourth quarter, then pushed the Heat to a 104-99 lead.
Later, a Butler jumper had the Heat up 106-101 with 1:42 to play.
Eventually, it came down to a Magic timeout down 106-103 with 10.4 seconds to play, with Orlando’s Gary Harris then missing a 3-pointer.
— 2. End of regulation: The Magic led 29-19 after the first period, went up 17 in the second period, and led 54-46 at halftime. The Heat then closed within one in the third period before going into the fourth down 79-72.
The Heat then fell behind by 12 early in the fourth quarter, but then clawed all the way back to a 97-97 tie at the end of regulation, a tie forged by a pair of Vincent free throws with 12.1 seconds to play.
The Heat had a chance to win at the end of regulation, with Butler off on a 3-pointer attempt of an inbounds play with 1.5 seconds left in the fourth.
— 3. Measured minutes: Saturday marked the first time Butler played both ends of a back-to-back set since Nov. 26-27 road games against the Portland Trail Blazers and Golden State Warriors.
Butler played 28:23 in Friday night’s home victory over the Houston Rockets.
“This was the plan, really the last six weeks,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “to try to build up to this in a healthy way, and I think we’ve checked all those boxes and [Friday] night it worked out perfectly, because we were able to keep the minutes at a manageable way and still find a way to get a win.”
Butler again received a lengthy second-half break, returning with 7:10 to play in the fourth quarter with the Heat down eight.
At 29 minutes through regulation, Butler remained on the court for overtime.
— 4. Working it: While the bulk of Adebayo’s scoring game early, he was relentless on the boards on a night there were ample rebounds to secure, with 16 through regulation.
With the Heat playing from behind, Adebayo was called for significant minutes on the second night of the back-to-back set, with Orlando Robinson, the Heat’s only available backup center, playing just 9:37.
— 5. Still short: The Heat again were shorthanded Saturday and will remain so for at least another two weeks.
With Kyle Lowry (knee), Victor Oladipo (ankle), Duncan Robinson (finger), Omer Yurtseven (ankle) and Nikola Jovic (back) again out Saturday, Spoelstra said Oladipo is the only one potentially to return before the All-Star break.
The Heat’s two remaining games before the break are Monday against the visiting Denver Nuggets and Wednesday at the Brooklyn Nets. They then resume their scheduled Feb. 24 with a road game against the Milwaukee Bucks.
“They’re doing all the work they need to do,” Spoelstra said. “They’re taking all the necessary steps, and only their bodies will tell them. I would say Vic is probably the only realistic one before the break.
“Duncan always says he’s going to be ready, but we’ll have to evaluate him and make sure it’s safe, before we put him back out there. But from a conditioning standpoint and all the other things, Duncan, he’s ready to go.”
Spoelstra said Lowry definitively would not be back before the break, with that absence seemingly to continue through the end of the month.
