Herro’s potential game-winner misses, Heat fall to Pacers 101-99

The game was tied 94-94 with 5:35 left in the fourth quarter.

Tyler Herro found himself in the same situation as he did two nights ago — taking a 3-pointer to win the game. Jimmy Butler missed his second straight game with a hip injury at the Indiana Pacers. But Friday night, it wasn’t tied. The Heat were down 101-99.

And Herro’s shot fell short, and Miami missed a chance to go on their first three-game win streak of the season. Instead, the Heat dropped to 4-6 through the first 10 games of the year.

The Heat have now had three consecutive games go down to the wire. While Miami pulled it off at home against the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings, they couldn’t do it tonight.

Gabe Vincent tied the game at 94 with a corner 3 midway through the fourth quarter. (Yes, not much scoring happened in crunch time.)

The Heat turned the ball over on their next two possessions. For the third chance, Erik Spoelstra called a timeout. And though Bam Adebayo had a good look at a 13-foot jumper, it missed.

Finally, Buddy Hield made a 3-pointer to break the tie and make it 97-94. And the Heat didn’t connect on a field goal the rest of the way; their final five points all came from the foul line. And while it was great Miami went a perfect 26-for-26 from the charity stripe, they needed a bit more to come away with a victory tonight.

In some ways, it just wasn’t the Heat’s night. Miami struggled mightily from 3 in the first half and fell behind by as many as 16 points. Kyle Lowry shot 1-of-9 from the field. Duncan Robinson went 0-for-7.

On top of that, Caleb Martin, Gabe Vincent and Bam Adebayo all battled foul trouble. When Jimmy Butler is out and Victor Oladipo remains injured, the depth suddenly looks thin. Martin’s foul trouble forced Spoelstra to go to Haywood Highsmith for a six-minute stint, but he didn’t play well.

Nikola Jovic injured his nose and didn’t make the trip to Indiana, which led both two-way players Jamal Cain and Dru Smith to dress tonight. But Spoesltra didn’t go to Cain. Maybe he should’ve.

Tyler Herro led Miami with 29 points, including 4-of-10 from 3, to go along with five rebounds and five assists. Herro’s offense was valuable on a night Butler didn’t play and Lowry didn’t build on his 22-point performance Wednesday night. But on the flip side, Herro turned the ball over five times.

Adebayo added 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting and 10 rebounds. He made a few early jumpers and even attempted a 3-pointer in the second quarter. But like Herro, Adebayo also turned the ball over five times.

Overall, the Heat had some great instances of ball movement in the first quarter especially. But later on, the ball stuck to one side more, and turnovers ended up costing them.

The Heat have two days off before hosting the Portland Trail Blazers Monday night.