After Friday’s lost in Dallas, the Miami Heat were looking to get back on track. The rebuilding Oklahoma City Thunder were just what the doctor ordered. Miami had the lead throughout the game, with the exception of the start of the second quarter. They then went on a 20-0 run in the third quarter to pull away. The win puts Miami’s record to 3-3 for the season.
Here’s my takeaways from Monday’s win over the Thunder.
Butler looking better
Getting Jimmy Butler back in the groove was obviously one of Miami’s biggest goals. He was able to get wide open for a layup in the first play of the game. From there, he appeared to look more like himself. He was aggressive on both ends of the floor. If he wasn’t attacking the paint, he was finding open shooters. Most importantly, he looked like the old Butler.
Butler finished with 18 points and six assists.
Adebayo leads the way
Like Butler, Bam Adebayo was also aggressive. Adebayo had a hot shooting night, making nine-of-10 from the field. He had plenty of dunks but also made a couple of mid-range jumpers. Bam also hit one jumper at the end of the shot clock early in the third quarter. his best play of the night came in the fourth, when he threw down an alley-oop dunk over Mike Muscala.
Gotta feel bad for the rim here pic.twitter.com/rv2ex2aA77
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) January 5, 2021
Adebayo finished with a game-high 20 points and grabbing eight rebounds.
Robinson’s three-point shooting back to normal
In the last game against the Dallas Mavericks, Duncan Robinson shot one-for-eight from downtown. This time, however, was different. He shot four-for-seven from three in the first half. Jimmy being aggressive had a lot to do with it. With Butler attacking the interior, it allowed the defense to sink in and leave Robinson open. And if you give Robinson a lot of open opportunities, he’s going to make you pay.
Robinson finished with 12 points on four-of-10 shooting from downtown.
Another game another lineup
For the sixth time this season, Miami inserted a new starting lineup. This time the team replaced Andre Igoudala with Kelly Olynyk. After a rough start last game, Miami was looking for better spacing by inserting Olynyk. The move immediately paid dividends as the team went off to a 14-5 start. We’ll see if Miami sticks with the new lineup.
The Olynyk Klynyk was in session tonight 😤
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) January 5, 2021
19 Pts / 5 threes / 8 Rebs pic.twitter.com/raCaPYjJQp
Olynyk starred in his new role. He finished with 19 points and eight rebounds.
Next up: The Boston Celtics on Wednesday. Game tips off at 7:30pm eastern.
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Main Image Credit: Embed from Getty Images
