Copyright The Oregonian
The Portland Trail Blazers' lone visit to South Beach promised to be a fast-paced, back-and-forth, high-scoring slugfest. And it lived up to the billing. But it didn’t end in a Blazers win. The Miami Heat handed Portland a 136-131 defeat Saturday night at the Kaseya Center, using clutch late-game shot-making and a few timely stops to pull away from a nip-and-tuck fourth quarter in Miami. In an entertaining, evenly-matched game that featured 19 lead changes and 12 ties, the Heat (6-4) had just enough in the final two minutes to slither away with a win. When Donovan Clingan made the second of consecutive layups with 2:16 remaining, the Blazers and Heat were deadlocked 127-127 and Portland had a golden chance to snatch an impressive victory in the opener of a five-game East Coast trip. Instead, the Blazers unraveled from there. Norman Powell swished a pair of free throws, Nikola Jovic rejected a Jrue Holiday shot in the lane, and Andrew Wiggins nailed a clutch three-pointer. Suddenly, the Blazers were staring at a 132-127 deficit with 1:32 left and a sellout crowd of 19,600 was buzzing. Before you knew it, the Blazers (5-4) had missed four consecutive shots and committed an ill-timed turnover, fumbling away any chance at a win. “It’s really hard to guard them,” Blazers interim coach Tiago Splitter told reporters after the game. “You’ve got to stay in front of them. If not, they punish you.” After delivering clutch late-game performances during victories over Denver and Oklahoma City earlier in the week, the Blazers were out-clutched on the road by a team playing the second game of a back-to-back. But it wasn’t for a lack of effort and without a flair for the dramatic. The teams entered the game ranked near the top of the NBA’s pace-of-play metrics — the Heat were first (106.25) and the Blazers second (105.25) in pace — and ranked among the league leaders in steals and fast break points. The Blazers ranked first in steals (11.6 per game) and fourth in fast-break points (18.8), while the Heat ranked sixth in steals (9.7) and third in fast-break points (19.0). And neither team deviated from its style Saturday in a fast-paced matchup that resembled a track meet. The Blazers snatched 20 steals that led to 32 points and the teams combined for 50 fast-break points, taking turns making runs and delivering haymakers. Each teams held a 12-point lead during the game and the fourth quarter featured 10 lead changes and seven ties. But in the end, the Heat had enough down the stretch to earn the win. TOP PERFORMERS Deni Avdija followed up his clutch performance against the Thunder with another impressive individual effort, recording 33 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. He made 12 of 20 shots, including 3 of 8 three-pointers, reaching the 30-point mark for the second time this season and 12th in his career. Holiday fell just short of his first triple-double with the Blazers, finishing with 18 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds. Shaedon Sharpe added 21 points and nine rebounds, but committed nine turnovers. Jovic was brilliant off the bench for the Heat, recording 29 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and Powell scored 22 points for the Heat. BENCH DIFFERENCE The Blazers’ bench has been a difference during the team’s strong start to the season. But it was outclassed Saturday night. Miami’s bench outscored Portland’s backups 63-33 as Jovic, Jaime Jaquez Jr. (14 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists) and Dru Smith (13 points, six assists, five rebounds) sparked an exceptional night by the Heat’s second unit. It didn’t help that Jerami Grant, who entered the game leading the NBA in bench scoring at 20.3 points per game, battled foul trouble all night. He finally drew his sixth foul with 4:25 left, leaving the Blazers without a key scorer and wing defender down the stretch. Grant finished with 18 points and four assists in 22 minutes. No one else on the Blazers’ bench scored more than six points. Latest Blazers news Portland Trail Blazers vs. Miami Heat: Game preview, odds, TV channel, how to watch ‘Something special in Portland:’ Trail Blazers rally from 22-point deficit to stun Oklahoma City Trail Blazers rally to stun Oklahoma City Thunder: Rapid Reaction Portland Trail Blazers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder: Game preview, odds, TV channel, how to watch ‘Terrible’ and ‘not ready to go:’ Blazers missing their defensive identity in Lakers loss SPOELSTRA COACHES 2 GAMES AFTER FIRE Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who grew up in Portland and attended the University of Portland, coached his second game since discovering his Miami-area home had been destroyed by a fire. The blaze, which started in the early hours Thursday morning as the Heat were flying home from a road game at Charlotte, reportedly featured flames as tall as the property’s trees and left Spoelstra’s home in charred rubble. No one was injured in the fire. Blazers interim coach Tiago Splitter offered his best to Spoelstra, who has coached the Heat to two NBA championships in 18 seasons as coach and was recently named coach of the U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team for the 2028 Los Angeles Games. “Sending good thoughts, good wishes on what happened to him and his family,” Splitter told reporters in Miami during his pregame availability. “I’m a big fan of him. What he did to the NBA and to the Heat culture. Big fan of Coach Spo. So sending him, his family the best wishes.” NEXT UP The Blazers visit the Orlando Magic on Monday at 4 p.m. at the Kia Center. It’s the second game of a five-game trip.
