Miami (USA), Mar 15 (EFE) .
Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro and Jimmy Butler scored over twenty points with 26, 24 and 23 respectively. The latter also rested throughout the last period, as the match was practically sentenced.
It is the fifth victory for the Heat in the last seven games, which keeps them in the fight for the sixth position to avoid the ‘play-in’. The Grizzlies, for their part, stopped the good reaction they had achieved with their last three wins in a row.
The preview of the game was marked by the officialization of the eight-game ban on Ja Morant by the NBA. The one in Miami is the sixth game absent from him and it is estimated that the return with the team will be next Monday against the Dallas Mavericks.
Memphis began the match with quick transitions and short possessions, putting a lot of rhythm into the game, which quickly put them ahead in the light.
The Heat were more static, relying heavily on Jimmy Butler, who scored five of his team’s first seven points and finished the first period with 14 points.
The fact that Jaren Jackson Jr. played open, creating difficulties for Bam Adebayo in his defense, greatly influenced the dynamics of the first minutes. The Grizzlies center shot up in scoring, closing the first quarter with twelve points.
Santi Aldama’s entry in the sixth minute put Jackson Jr back inside and the Heat got more out of their defense. A good closing run from the locals (8-2) put them ahead at the close of the first quarter with a tied 29-27 score.
Rookie David Roddy contributed his energy on the return to the track, also his success from the triple with two scored in the first actions. He was also very protagonist in the rebound and contributing to the collective game of the Grizzlies.
But if something left the second quarter, it was very good basketball by the Heat, sharing the ball well and generating good shots. They managed to stay in command on the scoreboard during the second quarter and even increase it to thirteen points away (59-46) two minutes before the break.
The main problem that Memphis had in this section of the game was in attack. Good circulation of the ball generated shooting advantages against the local defense, but they were not able to convert, the percentage from the perimeter in the second quarter was 26.7% in three-pointers, only four of the fifteen attempted.
A dunk from Bam Adebayo in transition closed the score at 63-51 with which both teams went to the locker room.
Miami achieved excellence in game and performance in the third quarter, the vast majority of players who entered the game added in all facets of the game, four of them with seven or more points in that time.
Kevin Love was one of them, two triples of three attempts for him and leadership details that are expected from a player of his experience. But he also went through the hardest side when he received a blow from Desmond Bane in his testicular area that left him sore on the parquet.
The referees reviewed the action on the monitors and deemed the impact to be intentional, flagging a level two flagrant foul and ejecting Bane from the match.
Also very outstanding Tyler Herro and Gabe Vincent, with a single failure in the shot between the two. Collectively, Spoelstra’s men reached their best version, also defensively, sometimes driving Memphis to despair, who never got into the game.
The rent grew with the passing of the minutes in favor of Miami and a magnificent closing of the period on their part caused the maximum of the match until then with 28 points of rent at the end of the third quarter: 105-77.
Taylor Jenkins decided to seat his starters to face the last period, but the substitutes competed and obtained a favorable partial of 8-16 that forced Spoelstra to request a time-out to stop the relaxation on the part of his players.
They were minutes for some of the less usual players to show their qualities, as Luke Kennard did with 14 points in the last quarter.
Miami once again took the reins of the game to consolidate their important victory and also left some actions to remember, such as a dunk by Caleb Martin that ‘posterized’ Kennard himself.
