Heat rally, Butler triple-double not enough in 125-124 OT loss in Detroit

DETROIT – The last time the Miami Heat attempted to storm back against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena, it was nothing short of mayhem, falling a month ago in overtime in a game decided by Heat coach Erik Spoelstra calling a timeout his team didn’t have.

This time, the Heat had their wits about them, with Tyler Herro again heating up late.

But this time, the same result, an overtime loss, this time a 125-124 decision, in a game that ended with Spoelstra without a timeout and with Tyler Herro off with a 3-point attempt just before the final buzzer.

Despite rallying from 19 down, it again was another sour ending to an overtime in Detroit.

In this one, the Heat in the first half would scrap, claw, relentlessly force Detroit turnovers.

And the Pistons would hit a bunch of 3-pointers.

Jimmy Butler would relentlessly go on attack in the second period to try to keep it close.

And the Pistons would hit a bunch of 3-pointers.

Time and again the Heat would attempt to move within striking distance.

And  the Pistons would hit a bunch of 3-pointers.

So, even with the late comeback,  a loss, despite 35 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists from Butler and 23 points from Herro.

With the Pistons setting a tone by converting 10 of their first 13 3-point attempts, riding the hot hand of replacement starter Malik Beasley, there simply wasn’t enough for the Heat.

The Heat also got 15 points and eight rebounds from center Bam Adebayo.

Beasley, who closed 7 of 13 from beyond the arc, led the Pistons with a season-high 28 points, with guard Cade Cunningham adding 20 points, a career-high 18 assists and 11 rebounds.

Five Degrees of Heat from Monday night’s game:

1. Closing time: The Pistons led 33-32 at the end of the first quarter, 63-59 at halftime, and, after pushing their lead to 19 in the third period, 97-81 heading into the fourth quarter.

By the time Butler checked back in with 8:05 to play in the fourth quarter, the Heat were down 107-88.

But, from there, as he did in the teams’ previous meeting in Detroit, Herro heated up, eventually his 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds to play in regulation forcing overtime, the Heat rallying from a 14-point deficit in the final 4:23 of the fourth quarter.

Baskets by Adebayo, Butler and Robinson then staked the Heat to a 120-114 overtime lead, forcing a Pistons timeout with 2:49 to play.

From there, Detroit closed within 122-120 with 1:35 left, this time leading to a Heat timeout, with a Tim Hardaway Jr. 3-pointer with 90 seconds to play putting the Pistons up one.

And then a wild sequence, Butler scoring while losing a shoe and Cunningham scoring on the other end for another one-point Pistons lead while the Heat defended four on five, with Butler scrambling to get his shoe.

Eventually, the Heat forced a Pistons turnover, calling timeout down one with 9.4 seconds left, the final timeout for either team.

After a Pistons foul, the Heat again inbounded with 6.4 seconds to play, with Herro off on a potential winning 3-point attempt.

2. Butler takeover: As the Heat fell behind by 15 in the second period, Butler seemingly decided he had seen enough.

Butler scored 14 points in his 7:15 in the second quarter, on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and 6-of-6 perfection from the line.

That was after Butler played as tablesetter in the opening period, his four assists in the first quarter creating 10 Heat points.

Butler was up to 21 points at halftime.

And kept going from there.

3. And then Herro: Just as forced overtime with a bravura fourth-quarter performance in the previous meeting, Herro this time scored 13 points in his 8:05 in the fourth quarter, at 5 of 9 from the field and 3 of 6 on 3-pointers.

The Heat outscored the Pistons by 17 with Herro on the court in the fourth, as he played the period without  a turnover.

While the 3-point shot wasn’t always there for Herro, the aggression never waned.

4. Call to the bullpen: Spoelstra twice turned to guard Dru Smith at the start of a half Monday in bids to settle his team.

In the first quarter, Smith was inserted in place of Haywood Highsmith just 2:47 into the game.

Then, after the Pistons opened the second half on a 9-0 run, Smith was inserted 2:10 into the third period for Duncan Robinson.

Smith’s second stint did not last very long, forced to the bench with his fourth foul with 7:14 left in the third.

Still, Smith was back on the court to start the fourth quarter, before fouling out with 11.5 seconds to play, with seven points.

Smith remains on a two-way contract, with the door opened for a shift to a standard deal with Sunday’s trade of Thomas Bryant to the Indiana Pacers.

5. Moving targets: Getting a read on the opposition proved particularly complex for the Heat in this one.

While the Pistons already had listed starting small forward Tobias Harris out with a sprained right thumb, Jaden Ivey, who had been listed as the starting shooting guard, was scratched just prior to tipoff with knee pain.

Then, during the second quarter, Pistons reserve big man Isaiah Steward limped off, ruled out shortly thereafter with a hyperextended left knee.

But perhaps the oddest twist came when veteran big man Paul Reed, waived a day earlier by the Pistons, was re-signed by Detroit in time for Monday’s game, entering the second period.