Jacari McRae | January 18th, 2020
Playing in their 41st game of the season, the Miami Heat finished the night with a victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Miami was in control for most of the game. Even though the Thunder came back, the Heat still found a way to win. The win improves the Heat’s record to 29-12 for the season.
Here are my takeaways from Friday’s victory.
Butler takes fewer shots, but still makes an impact
Jimmy Butler ended the night with 14 points on 3-of-8 shooting, ten rebounds, seven assists, and two steals. Games like this have become the norm for Butler, who was only three assists shy of recording his fourth triple-double of the season. And it seems like the Heat win more games when he plays this way.
However, one criticism of Butler’s game this season has been his shooting from outside the paint. Butler, a career 33.6 percent three-point shooter, entered Friday shooting 26.9 percent from the three point line and has made one three pointer in the past ten games. He made one on Friday. If he can start hitting three’s more consistently, it’ll help the Heat’s offense even more.
Bam’s night
With the Thunder missing their center Steven Adams, Bam Adebayo took advantage of the Thunder inside the paint. Adebayo had 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field in the first half. He was very decisive with his moves in the paint. It’s been fun watching Bam take his game to another level this season.
Adebayo finished the night with 21 points, eight rebounds, and five assists.
Olynyk provides solid minutes
Kelly Olynyk played in his second consecutive game since being left out of the rotation. That’s mostly because Tyler Herro was out and the Heat needed someone to fill in those minutes. After going scoreless on Wednesday, Olynyk’s minutes were more impactful on Friday.
Olynyk finished with 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting, seven rebounds, and two assists in 18 minutes.
Next up: The San Antonio Spurs on Sunday. Game tips off at 3PM ET.
Questions and comments?
thescorecrowsports@gmail.com
Follow Us on Twitter @thescorecrow
Follow Us on Reddit at u/TheScorecrow
Follow Us on Facebook at The Scorecrow
Follow Us on Instagram at The Scorecrow
Facebook Group where you can read and post articles at The Scorecrow
Reddit Group where everyone can post without fear of being banned at The Scorecrow
Follow Jacari McRae on Twitter @JMcRae23
Main Credit Image:
[getty src=”905395550″ width=”594″ height=”396″ tld=”com”]
