Winderman’s view: Heat running on Duncan again, when needed most

PHILADELPHIA — Observations and other notes of interest from Wednesday night’s  109-104 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers:

– That oversized Duncan Robinson contract that was the source of much consternation?

– Those trade rumors that reduced Robinson to mere salary-cap ledger entry?

– The notion that with Cole Swider being developed, Robinson was expendable?

– Never mind.

– Never mind.

– And never mind.

– The essential Duncan Robinson has resurfaced when needed.

– Picking up Wednesday night where he left off Tuesday night in Milwaukee.

– Is there still time for an addition to the 3-point contest this Saturday at All-Star Weekend?

– The Heat remained with the same starting lineup as in Tuesday night’s victory in Milwaukee, again opening with Bam Adebayo, Nikola Jovic, Caleb Martin, Robinson and Tyler Herro.

– That was with Jimmy Butler still away from the team following a death in the family, and with Terry Rozier (knee) and Josh Richardson (shoulder) back in South Florida dealing with injuries that will keep them out beyond the All-Star break.

– Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kevin Love and Haywood Highsmith then entered together in the Heat’s first substitution.

– Then, after going eight deep until mop-up duty in Tuesday night’s victory in Milwaukee, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra inserted Jamal Cain into the mix as ninth man.

– Love’s first basket was the 5,000th of his career.

–  Despite signing Tuesday with the 76ers after getting a buyout from the Hornets, former Heat guard Kyle Lowry was not in attendance.

– The 76ers and Lowry opted to wait until after the All-Star break for his debut.

– Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse made clear pregame Lowry was added as a reserve.

– “He’s a veteran player with a lot of experience, a lot of playoff experience, Nurse said. “He gives us another ballhandler, backup point guard, second point guard, whatever you want to say with that.”

– Nurse added, “We certainly needed a little more ballhandling.”

– Spoelstra then was asked about his perspective on Lowry, who was dealt to the Hornets along with a first-round pick for Rozier.

– “He’ll bring a lot of veteran leadership and he still has talent,” Spoelstra said. “I said it when we made the move, I think I said that when we first acquired him, the thing about Kyle, if you evaluate him based on how the team has done, and basically everywhere he has been over the last decade plus, he’s been able to impact winning with organizations, and he did that for us. The results speak for themselves.”

– Spoelstra added, “We didn’t accomplish our ultimate goal, but there were a lot of playoff wins and he had a big part in all of that. And more than anything, I’m just grateful that I was able to develop that kind of relationship with him. I really enjoyed the time working together and collaborating. And he’ll be a good fit here, back at home, and working with a coach he’s very familiar with.”

– It was the Heat’s 11th Valentine’s Day game over the franchise’s 36 seasons, entering with a 6-4 record in such games. The Heat’s previous Valentine’s Day game also was in Philadelphia, a loss in 2018.

– Speaking of Valentine’s Day, Joey Graziadei rang the pregame Liberty Bell.

– As in  Joey Graziadei of The Bachelorette Season 20.

– Rasheed Wallace also was in the crowd.