Five takeaways from the Heat’s impressive 119-98 win against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night at Moda Center:
▪ This was the team that Heat management expected to see when it kept most of this cast together.
There was Jimmy Butler imposing his will on both ends; Kyle Lowry playing an effective and efficient floor game; Caleb Martin wreaking havoc with his defensive verve and building on last season’s offensive growth; Bam Adebayo offering both tangible and intangible contributions; and Max Strus and Tyler Herro making teams pay from 3-point range.
In the process, the Heat avoided a 1-4 start, instead moving to 2-3 entering Thursday’s game against the defending champion Warriors in San Francisco. Portland (4-1) lost for the first time this season.
Heat fans also got their first regular season look at rookie Nikola Jovic (more on that in a minute).
Butler (17 points, five rebounds, five assists in 28 minutes) left his imprint on this one, collecting two steals, three assists, six points and making a mark defensively during a decisive third quarter that began with Miami ahead by five and ended with the Heat up 13, at 94-81.
Martin’s productivity and relentless activity were a major difference, too; he alternated defending Damian Lillard, Jerami Grant and others, chipping in four steals, eight rebounds and 16 points.
Two of those steals led to ferocious Martin dunks in transition, the second of which resulted in a technical foul for excessive celebration. Another steal ended with a Martin layup in transition.
Martin’s shooting (7 of 8) was impressive, but the defense was every bit as good. Miami was a plus 19 when he was on the court.
Herro opened 2 for 9 but then sank two 3s to push the Heat’s third quarter lead to double digits. He finished with 18 points.
Adebayo contributed 18 points, 8 rebounds and three assists.
Portland never drew closer than 13 in the fourth.
The Blazers played the final quarter and a half without leading scorer Lillard, who scored 22 in 26 minutes before leaving for good with a right calf strain.
The Heat emptied its bench late, giving its first minutes of the season to Udonis Haslem.
▪ Lowry gave the Heat the type of performance it will need, consistently, to remain a factor in the East.
Lowry entered shooting just 28.2% overall (11 for 39) and 28% on 3s (7 for 25).
His floor game had been generally fine (18 assists, six turnovers in the first four games), but the poor shooting stood out after his struggles during his injury-plagued postseason last spring.
On Wednesday, Lowry made three baskets (all 3s) in four attempts during that pivotal third quarter and closed with 17 points and six assists, a block and a steal in 26 minutes, shooting 5 for 7 on 3s and 5 for 8 overall.
▪ Strus has become quite ignitable off the bench.
For the third time in four games off the bench this season, Strus’ offense gave Miami a huge lift.
With the Heat teetering early, he nailed two 3s to steady the ship, then closed the first half with 13 points. He finished the night with 16 points on 6 for 11 shooting.
Strus scored 22 points in the opener against Chicago, shooting 5 for 7 on 3s, then scored 20, hitting 8 for 14 from the field, in Miami’s win against Toronto.
With Herro moving to the starting lineup, Strus’ scoring is badly needed off the bench. So far, he has been very much up to the challenge.
And Duncan Robinson hit a 3 early in the fourth quarter to push Miami’s lead to 97-81.
▪ Jovic made his NBA debut, and fouls followed.
The Heat’s first round pick entered at center after Adebayo picked up his third foul with 7:30 left in the second quarter.
He began the night defending Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic but predictably was attacked on switches and when he came over to help.
Just 31 seconds into Jovic’s debut, Jerami Grant took him off the dribble, and Jovic fouled him.
On the other end, Jovic carved out good position in the post, but Kyle Lowry threw an errant pass that the Blazers intercepted.
Soon after, Jovic missed a layup on his first shot as a pro but rebounded and hit the short follow for his first NBA points.
But more fouls followed, including his third — on a Lillard drive — just 3:39 into his NBA debut.
Nevertheless, Erik Spoelstra left in the game for another 1:43 after that point, and Jovic avoided another foul, before subbing in Dwayne Dedmon, who had two fouls.
The Heat played well with Jovic on the court; Miami was a plus four in his first-half minutes.
Spoelstra went to Jovic instead of Dedmon with 4:06 left in the third quarter, and he immediately committed a traveling violation.
But Jovic then made a steal, leading to a Lowry three on the other end. He played 2:34 in the third, picking up a fourth foul before departing. He re-entered late, picking up his fifth foul.
His final numbers: two points and two rebounds on 1 for 3 shooting in 14 minutes.
▪ 3-point shooting, supposed to be a strength of this team, finally was one.
Miami entered shooting 33.1% on 3s (21st in the league), compared with 39.3 for its opponents, which was eighth best in the league.
But that changed Tuesday, and that helped contribute to the Heat overcoming an early eight-point deficit and surging ahead 61-56 at the half.
Miami shot 7 of 16 on 3s in the first half and 15 for 38 (39.5%) for the game, with the percentage dropping a bit in garbage time.
Portland closed at 32.4% on 3s.
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