MIAMI — The Miami Heat went into Friday night having lost this season to three of the four worst teams in the NBA, teams so bad that they practically already have locked up the top seeds for the draft lottery.
Friday night they faced the possibility of the grand sham, against the league-worst Houston Rockets.
For now, the Heat’s infamy will be limited to those losses to the Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs and Charlotte Hornets, escaping this one with a dramatic 97-95 victory over the Rockets at Miami-Dade Arena.
Not that the Heat made easy work of it, winding up in their 39th clutch game of the season (a game within five points at any point in the final five minutes).
But with Jimmy Butler converting an alley-oop inbounds pass for a dunk off a timeout with seventh-tenths of a second to play, the Heat extended their home winning streak to eight.
Tyler Herro led the Heat with 31 points, adding nine rebounds and eight assists, with Bam Adebayo adding 20 points and eight rebounds, on a night Butler scored 16, no two more significant than his final two.
Five Degrees of Heat from Friday’s game:
— 1. Closing time: The Heat went up 10 early, trailed the Rockets 29-28 at the end of the first quarter, then led 58-56 at halftime. The Heat then went into the fourth up 75-73, after each team scored 17 in the third.
From there, the Heat went down four early in the fourth, closed within one midway through the period on a Herro 3-pointer, but Adebayo then was forced to the bench with 4:55 to play with his fifth foul.
The deficit then reached five before Butler free throws got the Heat within 89-88 with 1:54 left, with a goaltend against a Butler shot later bringing the Heat within 91-90 with 51.4 seconds to play.
An Adebayo steal and a Herro transition 3-pointer followed, for a 93-91 Heat lead with 24.2 seconds to play.
From there, a pair of Jalen Green free throws off an offensive rebound tied it 93-93 with 10.9 seconds to play.
The ball then went to Butler, who drew a foul with 6.2 seconds to play. The Rockets unsuccessfully challenged, burning their final timeout, with Butler making both foul shots.
Still, it proved to be enough time for Green to score on a driving layup with seven-tenths of a second to play to tie it.
But that’s when Butler emphatically put home his winning dunk.
— 2. Waiting game: The Heat continue to prioritize fourth-quarter rest for Butler, this time not returning him to the game until 6:05 remained, with the Heat down four.
This was not a game of typical Butler aggression, with only two free throws through the first three periods.
The question now is whether Friday’s performance impacts the decision on whether he plays Saturday night in Orlando, having not played both ends of a back-to-back set since October.
— 3. Herro ball: On a night the Heat’s wing offense was limited, Herro put together an effort that included an and-one dunk in the third period, up to 25 points entering the fourth.
At one point in the third quarter, with Adebayo in foul trouble and Butler getting a rest, Herro found himself flanked by a lineup of Max Strus, Haywood Highsmith, Orlando Robinson and Jamaree Bouyea.
It was arguably one of Herro’s most complete efforts of the season.
— 4. NBA debut: With the Heat shorthanded, with Kyle Lowry and Victor Oladipo out, Bouyea, added on a 10-day contract Wednesday, made his NBA debut late in the opening period, converting a driving layup on his first touch.
His initial stint was limited to 1:29. He then returned at the top of the second period and later played into the fourth quarter.
Bouyea, who went undrafted out of the University of San Francisco, had been with the Heat’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, after spending summer league and training camp with the Heat.
— 5. The exhale: Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said the mood was different at the morning shootaround, after the team went without a trade at Thursday’s NBA trading deadline.
“I’m sure it was on some of the guys’ minds, and that’s normal,” Spoelsta said. “And because of the flurry of activity that you’re seeing around the league, it would have to put a thought in your mind. But I think there was a lot of clarity this morning.”
Standing pat, Spoelstra said, should not have come as a surprise.
“This has basically been an organizational philosophy since Pat [Riley] got here,” Spoelstra said of Riley’s Heat stewardship since 1995. “You see it through. Each team has a lifespan to it and we have not seen this one through. And we feel like we have a great opportunity moving forward in these next 27 games and then on into the playoffs.”
