Takeaways From The Miami Heat's Victory Against Minnesota Timberwolves

The Heat are back at the .500 mark after Monday's win

The Miami Heat’s season has been inconsistent, to say the least. 

But they have found themselves back at the .500 mark after beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 113-110 Monday. It was another close one against a non-playoff team. 

They were without stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, who make up two-thirds of the Heat’s scoring, but the Timberwolves were also without Karl-Anthony Towns.

Here are some major takeaways from the game:

-Once again, Tyler Herro showed why he can be trusted in late-game situations. With the Heat up 111-108, Herro hit a shot with 33 seconds left. It was initially a 3-pointer but later ruled a two. Still, he secured the win for the Heat.

-With Butler and Adebayo out, Max Strus got his 19th start of the season while Nikola Jovic got his eighth. Strus had a solid game, scoring 19 points on 58 percent shooting. He also hit five of his 10 3-pointers. Jovic, who got into early foul trouble, finished with just nine points.

-The Heat’s bench was strong. Gabe Vincent scored 11 points while Orlando Robinson had 15. Duncan Robinson had three 3-pointers but his first one gave him 800 on his career, making him the fastest player in NBA history to reach that number.

-Even though the Heat won, they are still having trouble closing out games early when playing against non-playoff teams. It leaves doubt in people’s minds if they are willing to make it far in the playoffs.

Cory Nelson is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He attended Northern Virginia Community College. He can be reached at corymckenzienelson@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter @CKenzyNelson. You can also check out his personal blog https://allball30.wordpress.com