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What Erik Spoelstra loved from Heat after huge win over Knicks
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- What Erik Spoelstra loved from Heat after huge win over Knicks
The post What Erik Spoelstra loved from Heat after huge win over Knicks appeared first on ClutchPoints .
MIAMI – After the Miami Heat blew out the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday to get their first win of the season, the team followed that with an early statement victory over the New York Knicks in Sunday's home opener, 115-107. Despite the Heat being surrounded by rumors involving Terry Rozier's arrest from last Thursday, the team was motivated to move forward and refocus on basketball, which has led to the huge win.
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While met with adversity early, Miami played to its strengths and once again displayed the new look on offense with its up-tempo, fast-paced style that has the players playing free. Head coach Erik Spoelstra would say to ClutchPoints after the game that while "it wasn't a great game" in regards to their performance, the "competitive spirit" is what stood out to him.
"It was the competitive spirit from our guys," Spoelstra said. "We saw that obviously, in the Orlando game, and guys are fully committing to that collective competitive edge, and it wasn't a great game on our part, but that competitive spirit, you can do a lot of things with that. You can get a lot of belief from that; you can weather some storms. And when we were able to rebound, we were able to get out in the open court. We still need to do a better job, you know, on the glass, but these are lessons that are much better when you come off a win. I respect that, that commitment from the locker room right now."
At any rate, here is a look at each half in the early statement win for Miami over New York :
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Heat overcomes adversity, goes toe-to-toe with the Knicks
Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
As the Heat's new offense has been on full display in the first two games of the season, it was stalled for the most part in the first quarter against the Knicks. While the team looks to sustain the up-tempo and fast-paced nature of their offense, New York had the right idea in intensifying their man-to-man defensive pressure, clogging in any driving lanes that were in sight for Miami, leading to ill-advised shots.
Still, Norman Powell would keep the ship afloat with scoring 13 points in the period, but the other side saw Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby recording 11 and 10 points in the duration. While the first quarter saw the Heat trying to return to what made them successful in the first two games, they came back to that in the second quarter, ramping up the defense, playing at the pace they like, resulting in them scoring 33 points in the period.
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They had eight points in transition and shot 57.9 percent from the field (11 of 19), while making four of their nine three-point attempts, with three of those makes coming from newcomer Simone Fontecchio , who continues to make an impact. The second quarter also saw Bam Adebayo be more assertive on offense, scoring nine points and collecting five rebounds.
Miami would take a three-point lead into halftime against New York, which some have as one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference. One eye-opening statistic would be the 16 points the Heat had in fast-break opportunities, showing the emphasis on playing fast.
Heat seal the deal in the second half against the Knicks
While the Heat weren't freaking about the opening loss to the Orlando Magic last Wednesday, it's easy to see why, as the team's confidence in their new identity has been shown through three games. There is a clear focus on what the team wants their identity to be, especially after the past five seasons of Miami finishing towards the bottom of the league in offensive rating and pace.
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Though a small sample size, heading into Sunday's game, Miami had a pace of 112.3 possessions per 48 minutes, which is the fastest in the league and also ranked third in the NBA with 24 fastbreak points. The Heat kept it up in the third quarter of the game, as while it was originally a slug fest to start the second half, Miami seemed to have outrun the Knicks.
Miami would build up an 18-point lead in the fourth quarter to stun the Knicks, and while it got sketchy towards the end, the Heat stood their ground, hitting some key buckets like Andrew Wiggins making a three late or an alley-oop to Adebayo to seal the deal. Powell led the team with 29 points as Adebayo recorded a 19-point, 13-rebound double-double along with key outings from Jaime Jaquez Jr. (17 points) and Simone Fontecchio (14 points).
With the win, the team is now at 2-1 in the early season, looking to build a winning streak on Tuesday against the Charlotte Hornets .
Related: Why Heat's Bam Adebayo is 'not satisfied' just yet with new fast offense
Related: How Norman Powell's love of basketball has led to easy transition with Heat
