Heat can’t close four-game road trip on right note.
Despite being without four starters, the shorthanded Memphis Grizzlies grit-and-grinded their way to a 101-93 win over the Miami Heat on Monday.
The Grizzlies were without Ja Morant, Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. due to injury. Nevertheless, they ruthlessly attacked the rim, outscoring Miami 64-24 (!!) in the painted area and were the far more efficient squad, shooting 46.7 percent with 11 turnovers compared to Miami’s 39.2 percent and 16 turnovers.
Four Grizzlies scored in double figures, led by Tyus Jones, who had a career-high 28 points with 10 assists — his second double-double of the season — with five boards on 10-of-15 shooting, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range. Dillon Brooks had 17 points on 7-of-21 shooting while Santi Aldama provided a double-double of his own with 18 points and 10 boards on 8-of-12 from the field.
The Heat have five double figure scorers, led by Tyler Herro, who had 23 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and one steal on 8-of-20 shooting. Jimmy Butler had 18 points, in addition to six boards and seven assists; Caleb Martin posted 16 points with four 3s; Bam Adebayo had 15 points with five boards and four assists.
Martin’s scorching hot start from distance, knocking down his first four 3s, buoyed the Heat to an 11-point lead — 28-17 — with 4:38 minutes remaining in the opening quarter. They had a sloppy end to the quarter, getting outscored 10-4 over the final 4:38 of the quarter, still leading 32-27.
The lack of quick decision making and consistent rim pressure stalled the Heat offensive attack, as Miami fell behind by five midway through the second quarter. Butler’s 3-pointer ended an 18-5 Grizzlies run, making it 45-43 with three minutes left before halftime, but another Memphis run rewarded them the 58-51 lead at the break.
The Heat tipped off the third quarter similarly to how they started the first, playing tight defense while moving the ball well with energy in the half-court, which gave the offense a good flow. Miami led 75-71 with 3:07 left in the third quarter, but paint buckets from Jones, Kennedy Chandler and Xavier Tillman suddenly gave Memphis the 82-77 lead and they didn’t look back.
Memphis improves to 15-9 while the Heat couldn’t get back to .500, dropping to 11-13. They finish the road trip 2-2 with wins against Atlanta and Boston. It will finish the second leg of its back-to-back tomorrow night against the Detroit Pistons inside FTX Arena at 7:30 p.m. ET.