The Detroit Pistons pulled off one of the biggest upsets this season, as they forced the Miami Heat to overtime and defeated them 125-124. The Pistons have been playing quite well this season, and shown signs of coming into their own. And this win tonight over a tough and gritty Heat squad is only going to improve their morale and give them the confidence to play better this season.
The Pistons were led by Cade Cunningham, who had an amazing triple-double with 20 points (7-17 FG), 18 assists, and 11 rebounds. Malik Beasley had his best game of the season, as he scored 28 points (9-18 FG), four assists, three rebounds, and one block, including seven three-pointers made. Ausar Thompson had a great game as well, with 19 points (8-14 FG), nine rebounds, one assist, four steals, and one block.
The Miami Heat had decent performers tonight. Jimmy Butler had an amazing game, putting up a triple-double of his own with 35 points (12-21 FG), 19 rebounds, 10 assists, four steals, and one block. Tyler Herro had an off night, with 23 points (9-25 FG), four rebounds, one assist, and one steal. Bam Adebayo had 15 points (6-12 FG), eight rebounds, three assists, and one steal.
The Heat never gave up the fight against the Pistons, despite being down by 21 points at one point. And even though the Heat forced the Pistons into overtime, and even took an eight-point lead in overtime, the Pistons still closed out the game and took the win for themselves in the final stages.
The Pistons could have won it in regulation, but the Heat never gave up the fight. But they blew their chance of winning in the final two minutes of a thrilling overtime period. Here are three key takeaways from the Pistons' win over the Heat.
Pistons Are Clinical From The Three-Point Line
The Detroit Pistons were absolutely phenomenal from the three-point line. As a team, they went 20-40 from the three-point line, making 50% of their shots. Malik Beasley was the best from the three-point line, going 7-13 from beyond the arc. Tim Hardaway Jr. also shot well from deep, going 5-10.
By contrast, the Miami Heat were terrible from the three-point line, going 12-43 from deep, making just 27.9% of their attempts from the three-point line. Tyler Herro, who is usually their best shooter, went 4-17 from deep. Herro attempted more than half the threes by himself than the rest of the team combined.
This season, the Pistons have been less than stellar from the three-point line, ranking 18th in the entire league with just 35.6% of their attempted threes going in. So tonight's performance was certainly an outlier compared to the rest of the season.
Tyler Herro Underwhelms Tonight
Tyler Herro has been one of the Heat's best players this season. But you couldn't have guessed that by looking at his performance tonight. While he did have 23 points tonight, he was incredibly inefficient tonight, going 9-25 from the field and 4-17 from the three-point line.
He shot just 36.0% from the field, and 23.5% from the three-point line. It was truly a bizarre sight to see him struggle to such a degree tonight. Herro has been playing at an All-Star level this year, and this was far from an All-Star performance.
Overall, Herro has been brilliant this season, averaging 24.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.1 blocks per game while shooting 47.6% from the field, 41.3% from the three-point line, and 87.5% from the free-throw line this season. The hope from the Heat will be that tonight was just an outlier from Herro.
Heat Blow Lead In Last Two Minutes Of Overtime
After overcoming a 21-point deficit during the game, the Miami Heat forced overtime and took the game to the Detroit Pistons. Within the first three minutes of overtime, the Heat took an eight-point lead over the Pistons. With two minutes left, the Heat looked like they were going to seal an incredible comeback with an awesome win.
However, in the last two minutes of the game, the Heat went just 1-7 from the field and 0-4 from the three-point line. The Pistons were able to turn things around, scoring 11 points in the last two minutes, going 4-4 from the field, including 3-3 from the three-point line.
The Pistons showed the Heat that in overtime, no lead is safe. The Heat, who erased a massive lead during regulation, weren't able to help themselves from repeating the same mistakes and conceding several buckets during the final moments of overtime. The Heat blew a lead, and unlike the Pistons, it cost them a game.
The Miami Heat are going to want to put this disappointing loss in the rear-view mirror and focus on the future. With Jimmy Butler's role on the team in doubt, now that the Heat is open to listening to offers for him, they might focus on trying to find the best package for him going forward so that they can begin their rebuild.
The Heat will next play on Friday night, as they take on Oklahoma City Thunder at home at 8 PM EST. The Heat could capitalize on a tired Thunder squad who will be playing just days after their NBA Cup final against the Milwaukee Bucks.
