Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo not enough for Miami Heat in return

MIAMI — The Miami Heat were closer to whole, and certainly a whole lot more interesting with Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo back in the mix.

But that did not necessarily make it any easier Monday night, particularly with the opposition at Kaseya Center being the Western Conference-leading Minnesota Timberwolves.

So two nights after Jimmy Butler beat the buzzer for a victory over the Chicago Bulls, the Heat wound up closing their four-game homestand at 2-2 after a 112-108 loss to Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves.

“They buckled down more in that second half,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of the Timberwolves, after the Heat had built an early 17- point lead.

While Herro returned from an 18-game absence with a sprained right ankle to score 25 and while Adebayo who had missed seven consecutive games with a left-hip contusion, added 22 in his comeback, it wasn’t enough to overcome 32 from Edwards, who scored 10 in the fourth.

“Anthony Edwards was just terrific down the stretch,” Spoelstra said.

The Heat also got 15 points from Butler, 14 from Duncan Robinson and 13 from Josh Richardson.

With the Timberwolves playing to the strengths of the big men, they outscored the Heat 35-25 in the fourth quarter, the 19th time the Heat have been outscored in the fourth in their 27 games.

“We’ll figure this out,” Spoelstra said. “We’ve got to figure out how to win while doing all that.”

Five Degrees of Heat from Monday night’s game:

1. Closing time: The Heat led 33-22 at the end of the first period and 66-54 at halftime, But the Heat offense then ground to a halt against Minnesota’s league-leading defense, with the Timberwolves within 83-77 going into the fourth.

Then, with Butler on the bench taking his traditional rest at the top of the fourth, the Timberwolves completed their comeback from 17 down to take an 87-84 lead with 8:36 to play after a 12-1 run.

Herro then returned with 6:44 left and the Heat down 90-88, with Butler checking back in with 4:51 and the Heat behind 97-94, a Robinson 3-pointer in short order tying it 97-97.

Four straight Minnesota points followed.

Later, a Richardson 3-pointer drew the Heat within 103-102 with 2:11 to play and a Herro jumper getting the Heat within 107-106 with 46 seconds to play.

But that’s when Edwards converted a 14-foot jumper with 25.6 seconds to play to make it 109-106, the Timberwolves nursing the lead from there.

Eventually Minnesota’s league-leading defense proved too much, with the Heat limited to 42 second-half points.

“They’re long and athletic,” Herro said. “They force you into tough shots.”

2. Opening twist: With Adebayo and Herro back, and with Kyle Lowry given the night off for what the Heat termed soreness, it led to the Heat’s 15th lineup in their 27 games.

It was a lineup seemingly crafted for the matchup, with Kevin Love starting at power forward to counter the Timberwolves’ size of Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns, and Caleb Martin opening on the wing, as a defender against Anthony Edwards. Butler was the other starter.

That moved Robinson to the bench, after he had started, and thrived, in Herro’s absence.

The approach also had former starring power forward Haywood Highsmith playing off the bench for a second consecutive game after missing five with a back contusion.

“Some roles changed,” Herro said, “but we just have to figure out a way to make everybody feel like they’re playing at their best, with the guys that we have on the court.”

The Heat’s reserves, in order, were Jaime Jaquez Jr., Josh Richardson, Robinson and Highsmith.

Spoelstra said there now is a foundation to build going forward.

“This,” he said, “is where we wanted to be.”

3. Immediate buckets: Herro was in attack mode from the outset, converting his first four shots, continually lofting floaters over the length of Gobert.

Herro’s initial run also included a pair of assists, as he played as de facto point guard, albeit with Butler lining up in that role at the outset.

“I thought he made a lot of good, winning basketball decisions when the ball was in his hands,” Spoelstra said.

Herro was up to 17 points by intermission, in 15:53 of action. He taped off from there, finishing 10 of 18 from the field, but 1 of 6 on 3-pointers.

“I was just trying to make the right play,” Herro said. “Obviously my wind was still needing to catch up. But I felt good.”

4. Bam’s bearings: Adebayo, by contrast, appeared to be impacted by Gobert’s length at the outset, opening 1 of 5 from the field. He came around to stand with seven points in his first seven minutes, before heading to the bench.

What was somewhat off was the timing on lobs, with Jaquez and Robinson winding up with turnovers while attempting to feed Adebayo, who stood with 11 points at halftime.

Rebounding also was an issue with Adebayo, with Love compensating in that aspect. Adebayo finished with six rebounds, Love with 10.

“I came out unscathed,” Adebayo said. “I walked off the court, healthy, happy, just really getting to enjoy competition again.

“Get some of this rust off and we’ll be back at it.”

5. Still a factor: The shift to the bench did not take Robinson out of his rhythm, as he not only stepped forward with his 3-pointers but also made himself a factor on the boards and with his passing.

Robinson closed 4 of 8 from beyond the arc, with five rebounds and three assists.