Herro’s 34 not enough to overcome Towns’ 44, as Knicks drop Heat 116-107

MIAMI — This wasn’t for a lack of trying by Tyler Herro. For extended stretches Wednesday night, the sixth-year guard was the Miami Heat’s offense.

This was about another former Kentucky Wildcat putting his team over the top — and it wasn’t Herro teammate Bam Adebayo.

With Karl-Anthony Towns showing the next level he is capable of lifting his new team, the New York Knicks overcame Herro’s 34 points behind Towns’ 44 to push past the Heat 116-107 at Kaseya Center.

“He’s a handful,” Herro said of Towns. “I think he caught a rhythm early and he was able to sustain that throughout the game.

While it was dueling Wildcats for most of the night, it was Towns who ultimately had the better support system, with the Knicks getting 22 points and nine assists from Jalen Brunson, and 17 points and six assists from Mikal Bridges.

The Heat’s other leading men, by contrast, proved limited, with Jimmy Butler closing with 15 points and Adebayo with 11.

So make it two losses in three home games this young season and a 2-2 record going into Saturday night’s game in Mexico City against the Washington Wizards.

“We’ll get there,” coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Five Degrees of Heat from Wednesday night’s game against the Knicks:

1. Closing time: The Heat led 32-26 after the opening period and 58-52 at halftime.

The Heat then went up 13 in the third period, before immediately being hit by an 11-0 Knicks surge as part of New York’s climb to an 87-80 lead going into the fourth.

“At the beginning of the third quarter we actually were more assertive,” Spoelstra said. “Once they got in the middle of that quarter, they pretty much took over from there.”

The Heat then went down nine early in the fourth, before climbing back within three midway through the period.

From there, baskets by Brunson and Towns later pushed the Knicks to their first double-digit lead of the night, effectively ending it.

“We didn’t stay with it,” Heat guard Terry Rozier said. “We didn’t do the things that got us the lead.”

2. Herro’s heater: Herro set the early pace for the Heat with 14 points in his opening 10:33 stint, built on 5-of-6 shooting from the field that included 2-of-2 3-point accuracy.

Herro also had three assists in that stint that led to seven points, accounting for 21 of the Heat’s points in the first quarter.

By the midpoint of the second period Herro already had matched his previous season high of three 3-pointers, as many as his teammates had combined at that stage.

He stood with 20 points at halftime and 28 going into the fourth.

“He’s making the right plays,” Spoelstra said. “He’s becoming much more of a complete basketball player.”

Herro closed 12 of 20 from the field, including 8 of 13 on 3-pointers.

“The coaching staff and my teammates have made it easy on me,” Herro said, “just being able to play off the catch.”

3. Another twist: Spoelstra spoke pregame of the need for both readiness and patience by the players at the back end of his rotation.

This time it had point guard Dru Smith back in the mix as the third reserve off the bench, after Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Thomas Bryant, but ahead of Haywood Highsmith and Alec Burks, who did not play.

Of Smith, Spoelstra said, “I thought he was really good in the first half, some of that defensive pressure, the spark.”

The prime nine-man rotation was rounded out by Duncan Robinson, who again struggled with his 3-point shot, at 1 of 5.

“The whole idea when you’re coming off the bench is change the energy,” Spoelstra said.

4. Foul trouble: Adebayo was forced to the bench with his second foul with 4:17 left in the first period and with his third foul with 4:29 left in the second quarter.

That forced the Heat into extended minutes with Thomas Bryant in the middle, with Kevin Love remaining away from the Heat since the start of the season due to an undisclosed personal matter.

While Bryant struggled against Towns, he did convert a pair of second-quarter 3-pointers, closing with those six points.

Adebayo closed 3 of 7 from the field, hardly the shot volume needed to maximize his game.

“We need to get the ball to Bam, too,” Spoelstra said.

Rozier agreed.

“We all know that we’ve got to give Bam more shots and get him more in his rhythm,” Rozier said.

5. Limited respect: The Knicks opened with 6-2 Brunson on 6-10 Nikola Jovic four nights after the Charlotte Hornets opened with 6-1 Seth Curry on Jovic.

Basically, with Jovic limited to oversized ballhandler and spacing 3-point shooter, the Heat are providing a nightly escape hatch for minus defenders.

Even when presented with such mismatches, Jovic has been reluctant to attack such height differences, although he did help space the floor in this one with his 3-point shooting, while also offering a contribution off the glass.

Jovic finished with 10 points and six rebounds.