Miami Heat Fail To Hold Lead In Second Half Once Again

The Miami Heat lose the third of their last four games as fourth quarter shooting fails.

Nov 6, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro (14) dribbles against the Phoenix Suns during the second half at Footprint Center. / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

The Miami Heat lost their second game in a row as they were defeated by the Phoenix Suns 115-112. It was Miami's first game of a six-game road trip.

"We put ourselves in a nice situation, going down the stretch and they made more of them than we did," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Tyler Herro led the Heat with 28 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists. Haywood Highsmith chipped in with 19 points off the bench. Jimmy Butler added 15 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Bam Adebayo had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

"That's what it's about, it's about competing," Spoelstra said. "They had that drive. Haywood gave us good minutes in the first half and so we kept going with him and he played some really good basketball. We played better than we have in previous third quarters."

Kevin Durant led the Suns with 32 points and 8 rebounds. Jusuf Nurkic had 20 points to go with 18 rebounds.

"You can't defend him any better. He's one of the greatest scorers of all time," Spoelstra said. "There was not a whole lot we could do."

Miami lost a 15-point lead in the second half. Miami had the ball at midcourt to end the game and could not get off a shot before time expired.

"The triggers were executed right," Spoelstra said. "The only play at that point was for Jimmy to shoot the three and we just ran out of time."

Fourth Quarter:

Phoenix 115, Miami 112, End of Game

Devin Booker hits one of two free throws and the Heat call their final time out with four seconds to play.

Phoenix 115, Miami 112

Durant hits a fadeaway jumper from the top of the key to extend the Suns lead to four. Durant has 32 points for the game. Herro gets two points for the Heat and Phoenix calls timeout with 7.6 seconds to play.

Phoenix 114, Miami 112

Haywood Highsmith commits his third foul and Kevin Durant goes to the free throw line with :44 to play in the game. Durant hits both free throws. Highsmith then with the spin move to the basket gets the hoop and one. There is :33 left in regulation.

Phoenix 112, Miami 110

The Heat shooting goes cold as they are 2 of 9 in the fourth quarter. Bam Adebayo is 5 of 21 shooting, but has 11 rebounds. Jimmy Butler with the steal and the jam.

Phoenix 108, Miami 105

Bradley Beal with his first triple of the game gives the Suns a 3-point lead. This comes off of a Terry Rozier open look miss on a three from the left side of the arc. Rozier is struggling with 2 of 9 shooting for the night.

Phoenix 106, Miami 103

Timeout on the floor as Phoenix challenges a foul called against Ryan O'Neale with 5:33 to play. Phoenix loses the challenge and Haywood Highsmith goes to the line to shoot two.

Phoenix 101, Miami 101

Nurkic hits a two-point basket and then Durant has an open triple. Haywood Highsmith answers from the corner for 3.

Phoenix 98, Miami 97

Grayson Allen with his third 3-point field goal gives the Suns the lead with 8:01 to play in the game. The sequence followed a Bam Adebayo turnover. Phoenix with a 9-5 fourth quarter run.

Phoenix 93, Miami 92

Ware hits his first NBA 3-pointer and has a career high seven points. This is after a Plumlee runner in the lane. Nurkic hits a logo 3-pointer to make it a one-point game.

Miami 90, Phoenix 89

Third Quarter:

Mason Plumlee with a two-handed slam to cut the 15-point lead to six. Devin Booker gets the basket and a foul to cut the Miami lead to three. Another 15-3 run for the Suns in the last 3:00 of the third quarter but the Heat lead.

Miami 87, Phoenix 84, End Third Quarter

Grayson Allen with his second 3-point field goal, followed by a Durant 3-pointer and the Heat lead is cut. Phoenix is on a 10-2 run.

Miami 86, Phoenix 79

Herro exits the game with 24 points before the timeout. Durant gets a bucket in transition as the Heat have a lapse on the offensive end.

Miami 86, Phoenix 73

Durant and Herro exchange two-points baskets as the Heat are winning the third quarter.

Miami 82, Phoenix 69

Miami goes on a 17-5 run to increase their lead. Bam Adebayo scores from inside the paint and is approaching a double-double. Adebayo has scored 8 points and has grabbed 10 rebounds. He also has four assists, three steals and one block.

Miami 78. Phoenix 67

Herro come back with his fifth triple in six attempts from 29 feet. Devin Booker comes back with a mid-range jumper. Terry Rozier then comes back with a triple to expand the Heat lead. Durant then hits a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 5.

Miami 72, Phoenix 67

Haywood Highsmith with a basket in transition. Durant opened the half with a pair of buckets. Tyler Herro gets a forearm to the face from Bradley Beal. The Suns challenge the foul and there is a timeout on the floor with 8:40 to play in the third quarter. The call was changed to an offensive foul by Herro.

Miami 66, Phoenix 62

Second Quarter:

Jimmy Butler with the pull up jumper. He has seven points in the first half. Bam Adebayo gets the ball in his own end and finishes with the dunk. Butler comes back with the spinner inside the lane and scores an easy basket. Herro then throws to Bam who dunked it home with under a minute to play in the half. Royce O'Neale follows up with a 3-point basket for Phoenix.

Miami 58. Phoenix 55, Halftime

Alec Burks with a triple after being set up by Tyler Herro in transition. Phoenix with two consecutive baskets to tie the game.

Miami 50, Phoenix 50.

Herro fouled on a 3-point shot . He makes all three free throws. Durant misses from the corner. Bam Adebayo with a two-hand jam with 4:29 to play in the half.

Phoenix 46, Miami 45

Phoenix goes on an 8-0 run to retake the lead.

Phoenix 44, Miami 40

Ware with his first NBA block comes after he scores on a dunk at the other end. Timeout. Robinson and Herro both have three triples for Miami.

Miami 40, Phoenix 37

Jimmy Butler knocks down two free throws. Game tied at 32. Bradley Beal blocks Duncan Robinson on a fast break and the Suns score in transition. Pelle Larsson with a runner in the lane and draws the foul. Makes the foul shot. Robinson with another triple. Miami goes up by four with 8:18 to play in the half.

Miami 38, Phoenix 37

Duncan Robinson with another 3-pointer. Heat on an 11-4 run. Alec Burks comes back with a long 2-pointer from the corner.

Phoenix 32, Miami 30

First Quarter:

Durant hits a 3-pointer in trnasition as the Suns extend their lead to seven. Duncan Robinson hits a triple from the corner to bring the Heat within three. Highsmith then gets a bucket and the lead is cut to one. Bradley Beal had a contested jumper at the buzzer that was no good.

Phoenix 26, Miami 25, End of Quarter.

Herro with his third 3-pointer off the catch and shoot. Herro hits it from the left wing. Kel'el Ware checks into the game with 3:27 to play in the quarter. Ware with an offensive rebound, but he could not put it in the basket.

Phoenix 23, Miami 19

Tyus Jones with a 3-pointer to give Phoenix the lead after a Haywood Highsmith basket from Pelle Larsson. 4:20 left in the quarter. Grayson Allen with a 3-point field goal for Phoenix.

Phoenix 19, Miami 14.

Tyler Herro makes two 3-pointers to bring the Heat back. Kevin Durant hits a 3.

Phoenix 14, Miami 10

Bam Adebayo missed two shots in the paint. Jimmy Butler missed a layup as the Heat trail by three with 8:26 to play in the quarter. Heat have made just two of their first eight shots.

Phoenix 8, Miami 5

Pregame:

Miami Heat projected starters:

Terry Rozier

Tyler Herro

Bam Adebayo

Jimmy Butler

Nikola Jovic

Scott Salomon is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at sas@southfloridamedianetwork.com.

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