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MIAMI — The Miami Heat gave up 39 points to the Detroit Pistons in the first quarter Saturday night, then outscored them 100-78 the rest of the way. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 34 points, 14 rebounds, and 8 assists, and the Heat blocked 14 shots in a 137-117 win at Kaseya Center.
Nine Heat players recorded at least one of Miami’s 14 blocks. Miami also outscored Detroit 28-11 in fast-break points and went 33-of-40 at the free-throw line. The Pistons went 11-of-34 from three and grabbed 22 offensive rebounds, which produced 20 second-chance points.
Miami improved to 7-6 with its fourth straight win and has won seven of its last nine after an 0-4 start. Detroit fell to 8-4. The Pistons won the first meeting, 128-111 in Miami on Oct. 23, so the season series is tied 1-1.
Antetokounmpo made 13 of 17 shots and blocked 3. He scored 37 points in Friday’s win over Cleveland, giving him 71 across the back-to-back. Klay Thompson, who did not play Friday, scored 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting, including 6-of-11 from three, in 20 minutes. Bam Adebayo added 20 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks, and Davion Mitchell had 15 points and 9 assists.
Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 33 points and 8 assists and went 14-of-14 at the free-throw line. Kevin Huerter added 20 points, 7 assists, and 3 blocks off the bench.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was asked about Miami’s defensive response after Detroit’s 39-point first quarter.
“The second quarter, I mentioned at halftime, it looked much more to how we want to impose a will on a game. I mean, that’s an aggressive team. It was really physical, particularly in that first half. There were a lot of fouls,” Spoelstra said.
“But the second quarter, we started to settle in and made things a little bit tougher, swarm a little bit more, make more efforts, and that gave us an opportunity to get out in the open court. We have probably 20 fast-break points by halftime, and then a lot of that was from those defensive stops in that second quarter,” Spoelstra continued.
Miami Heat Hold Detroit To 21 In The Second Quarter
Miami used a 9-0 run early in the first quarter to turn a 7-5 deficit into a 14-7 lead, and Thompson scored 6 of those points on two 3-pointers. Ronald Holland II’s 3-pointer tied it 37-37 with 42 seconds left, and Javonte Green made two free throws for a 39-37 Pistons lead after one.
Cunningham’s dunk to open the second quarter made it 41-37, Detroit’s largest lead. Adebayo’s 24-foot 3-pointer with 7:34 left put Miami ahead 47-45, and Antetokounmpo then scored 6 of Miami’s next 8 points, finishing with a dunk that made it 55-49 with 4:02 left. Mitchell made two free throws with no time on the clock, and Miami led 68-60 at halftime.
Duncan Robinson left with 4:17 remaining in the second quarter with left thigh soreness and did not return. He finished with 10 points in 17 minutes, and Huerter started the second half in his place.
Detroit scored 21 points in the second quarter and 52 in the paint for the game. Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff was asked how his team played in the first half compared with the second, given the size Detroit gave up against Antetokounmpo and Adebayo.
“I mean, I thought in the first half, like I said, you know, we did a lot of good things offensively. You know, I still feel like defensively, you’re giving up 37 and 31. That’s not good enough, and what we do starts with the defensive end of the floor. We’ve got to be able to get stops so that we can get out in transition and play fast. But we didn’t get enough stops, you know, either half,” Bickerstaff said.
“But you know, again, offensively in the second half, I thought we scored the ball. You know, we just couldn’t do it and bring ourselves back in the game,” Bickerstaff continued.
Spoelstra was asked whether the activity across Miami’s roster is encouraging when it can erase defensive mistakes at the rim.
“Definitely want the activity level. Definitely want playmakers out there defensively. Make a play. It’s not all going to go according to plan, but make a play. It might be a verticality, might be a block, might be a strip, might be a deflection,” Spoelstra said.
Klay Thompson Scores 18 After Halftime As Miami Pulls Away
Foul trouble limited Thompson in the first half, and he went to the break with 8 points. He scored 9 in the third quarter, including a 25-foot pull-up 3-pointer that made it 77-66 with 10:12 left and forced a Detroit timeout.
The Pistons answered with an 8-0 run. John Collins hit a pull-up 3-pointer, Cunningham made two free throws, and Daniss Jenkins hit a 3-pointer to make it 77-74 with 8:45 left. Miami scored 10 of the next 12 points, 7 of them by Antetokounmpo, and led 103-86 after three quarters on a Bobby Portis Jr. putback and a Ryan Conwell tip-in at the horn.
Spoelstra was asked how much it helped to have Thompson back, and how quickly a shooter like him can break a game open.
“Yeah, it can happen fast with him, right? It’s like an avalanche. Suddenly, he’ll knock down two threes, and you get that separation back-to-back possessions. Then there’ll be an overreaction. He’ll make a play from there, but that’s about as ignitable as you can be in 26 and 20 minutes,” Spoelstra said.
“He wanted to play last night, but it was good. You know, everybody was responsible about it just to get him feeling a lot better. And you can see he had a little pep to his step tonight,” Spoelstra continued.
Detroit cut the deficit to 112-100 on an Ausar Thompson layup with 5:22 left. Antetokounmpo, Klay Thompson, and Mitchell then hit 3-pointers in a span of 57 seconds, and the lead was back to 121-102 with 4:00 remaining. Klay Thompson scored all 9 of his fourth-quarter points on 3-pointers, and his sixth 3-pointer of the night made it 127-110 with 2:01 left.
Spoelstra was asked about one of Antetokounmpo’s passes, and his answer turned to what Thompson does late in games.
“Then also, Klay just has a career of seizing a moment, right? He’s not going to let a moment pass. So there’s going to be like a great play there and a highlight. He’s going to make sure that he knocks down the three to seal it,” Spoelstra said.
Giannis Antetokounmpo Keeps Miami’s Offense In Rhythm
Antetokounmpo’s 8 assists went to five different teammates, and he and Adebayo assisted on each other’s baskets four times. Spoelstra was asked about Antetokounmpo’s passing, especially the kickouts to shooters early in his drives.
“Yeah, but we need that. We need a touch of Magic Johnson with him, and look, he’s shouldering a ton of responsibilities. He’s making this look easy, whatever that stat line is, 34 and 14 and almost 10 assists,” Spoelstra said.
“He literally is making that look easy, but he also has the shoulder responsibilities of keeping the offense in a flow, and that means when there’s defenders loading up, bringing a third defender, oftentimes, it’s that early kick out that gets a guy in a rhythm, or that quick triple handoff, or he’s getting better at just getting up the floor and letting D. Mitch get us into offense,” Spoelstra continued.
“All of these things take a little bit of time, and he’s a willing guy to be able to help our offense grow exponentially, and that’s by maximizing his incredible talent, but also his mind to be able to get other guys involved and let them become X factors in the game,” Spoelstra added.
Andrew Wiggins scored 10 points off the bench, and Conwell added 9. The Heat finished with 34 assists and 10 steals.
Cade Cunningham Scores 33 In The Pistons’ Loss
Cunningham scored 17 points after halftime. Huerter made 9 of 15 shots, Collins scored 8 points on 3-of-13 shooting, and Ausar Thompson had 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists in 18 minutes. Paul Reed added 9 points and 9 rebounds, 5 of them offensive, off the bench.
Miami shot 50.6% from the field and scored at least 31 points in every quarter. Bickerstaff was asked what made the Heat’s offense so effective.
“I mean, one, you know, they’ve got two guys that are really good. But again, the past couple games for us, you know, our defense hasn’t been to standard. And that’s on me. I’ve got to do a better job, you know, making sure we’re doing the things that we’re supposed to be doing the way that we’re supposed to be doing them,” Bickerstaff said.
“And you know, when we do the things properly, you know, we’re pretty good defensively. But right now, we’re not executing our system consistently enough. We’re putting ourselves in tough situations,” Bickerstaff continued.
What’s Next For The Heat And Pistons
Detroit played without Jalen Duren (right hamstring strain) and Isaiah Joe (right hip contusion). Miami was without Pelle Larsson (illness).
The Heat continue their homestand Monday against the Houston Rockets at Kaseya Center. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. CT. The Pistons visit the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday at 7 p.m. CT on NBC and Peacock.
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