MIAMI — In an alternate universe, the Miami Heat won Saturday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors at FTX Arena at the end of the second overtime on a Gabe Vincent 3-point heave.
That universe, however, does not exist, with Heat coach Erik Spoelstra instead calling timeout before Vincent’s conversion.
So on it went to a third overtime, the fourth triple-overtime game in the Heat’s 34 seasons.
And this time, no miracle finish, just a 124-120 loss that came despite a 37-point, 14-rebound, 10-assist triple-double from Jimmy Butler and a 14-point, 16-rebound double-double from Bam Adebayo.
On a night of bonus-bonus-bonus basketball, it wasn’t enough to complete a 4-0 homestand, even with Vincent adding 17 points and Tyler Herro 13.
Down most of the night, showing the legs of a team that played the night before, and still lacking Kyle Lowry, the Heat followed Butler’s grit to extend the game, left with just their fifth loss in their last 19 games and only their second home loss in their last 14 at FTX.
The Raptors were led by the 33 points of Gary Trent Jr.
Five Degrees of Heat from Saturday’s game:
— 1. Closing time: After falling behind by 16 at one point in the third quarter, the Heat trailed 85-75 entering the fourth.
The Heat then had a chance to win it at the end of regulation, but in a 100-100 tie, Butler was unable to get a shot off from an inbounds play with 2.9 seconds remaining in the fourth.
A late Butler turnover then foiled the Heat at the end of the first overtime, which ended 105-105.
At the end of the second overtime, Vincent threw the ball in from a stride beyond midcourt, only to have Spoelstra call time with 1.7 seconds left.
Off that inbounds play, Herro was short on a lane runner, sending it to a third overtime, at 114-114.
A pair of Fred VanVleet 3-pointers staked the Raptors to a 122-117 lead in the third extra period.
Down two, the Heat then called time with 14.9 seconds left, with a Herro 3-point attempt then rimming out and a pair of Pascal Siakam free throws with 9.8 seconds left effectively ending it.
— 2. Back at it: After a 16-of-16 game from the line Friday, Butler this time took his accuracy to the field, making his first seven shots in a 24-point first half.
Butler missed his first two free throws, to snap that streak at 19, part of the Heat’s 0-for-4 start from the line.
Butler limped to the bench after landing awkwardly on a 3-point attempt in the third period but remained in the game.
But he came back to complete his second triple-double of the season against the Raptors.
— 3. Flip side: A night after shooting 7 of 12 from behind the arc, Vincent came up with 3-pointers in both of the first two overtimes.
His contribution was needed on a night Duncan Robinson shot 0 for 5 from beyond the arc and with Lowry still away from the team due to personal reasons.
— 4. Uneven night: Herro was up to five turnovers by the midpoint of the third quarter, at a stage he was 1 of 6 from the field.
The typically crisp Heat ball movement largely was bottled up by the Raptors, with the Heat up to 17 turnovers by the start of the fourth quarter.
Herro eventually fell to 1 of 8 from the field before converting a fourth-quarter 3-pointer that extended his streak of consecutive games with at least one to 13, second only to his 32-game streak that ended last March.
— 5. Schedule challenge: The game was the second in a stretch of four in five nights.
The schedule is the result of the rescheduling of the postponed Dec. 29 game in San Antonio due to COVID absences.
So after beating the visiting Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night and playing on Saturday, the Heat next play Monday in Boston and Tuesday in Toronto.
The game in Toronto originally was scheduled for Thursday, leaving a two-day break after Boston, but that date was utilized for the rescheduled Spurs game.
The game in Boston opens a six-game trip that ends in New Orleans at the Feb. 10 NBA trading deadline.
The Heat then do not have a trip longer than two games over the following six weeks.
