Miami Heat’s Tyler Herro Wins Three-Point Contest At All-Star Weekend

Despite the Miami Heat’s start to the season highlighted by plenty of drama due to Jimmy Butler’s eventual exit, Tyler Herro has been one of the team’s main bright spots.

Herro has had a career year in nearly every aspect of his game. He has statistically improved in multiple categories, which has led to his first All-Star appearance.

Another event he was selected to participate in was the Three-Point contest. Although he’s struggled from the perimeter for several consecutive games, those struggles didn’t prevent him from winning the competition.

Herro scored 19 in the event’s first round and trailed Buddy Hield’s 31 and Darius Garland’s 24. Damian Lillard, who has won the contest two straight times, came up two points short of eliminating Herro as he moved to the contest’s final round.

In the last round, Herro finished with a very respectable 24 points. Hield and Garland couldn’t continue their hot shooting from the previous round, as they both came up short with 23 and 17 points.

Herro became the fifth Heat player to win the Three-Point contest. The others who won were Glen Rice in 1995, Jason Kapono in 2007, Daequan Cook in 2009, and James Jones in 2011.

The next event for Herro to participate in is the All-Star game representing the Eastern Conference.

MIAMI HEAT’S BAM ADEBAYO IS HAVING A RESURGENCE INTO ALL-STAR FORM

Despite being talented enough to overcome playing as an undersized center, Bam Adebayo has finally got his wish from the Miami Heat front office to play next to a true center in Kel’el Ware.

His move to power forward has allowed Ware to receive much-needed playing time at center and Adebayo to have his best stretch of games of the season. 

Since Jan. 25, Adebayo is averaging 22.4 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 4.6 assists on 53.4 percent shooting and 41.8 percent from three-point range.

Before moving to power forward, Adebayo was inconsistent offensively. A significant reason for his improvement is Ware. Although their chemistry isn’t perfect, Adebayo has gotten easy assists several times by driving to the basket and dishing off to Ware when the defense collapses.

Adebayo has also improved defensively alongside Ware. Similar to how Giannis Antetokounmpo can roam as a dominant help defender because Brook Lopez is backing him, Adebayo can switch off screens to guard on the perimeter. At the same time, Ware stays back to protect the rim. This has allowed Adebayo to rebound more easily because he’s no longer the only person with size for the Heat to box out.

HEAT VS MAVERICKS TAKEAWAYS: HUGE NIGHT FROM TYLER HERRO NOT ENOUGH

The Miami Heat (25-28) lost their fourth consecutive game against the Dallas Mavericks (30-26) 118-113.

Here’s a look at four major takeaways from the matchup:

1. Tyler Herro was the primary source of offense throughout the game.

Herro finished with 40 points, eight rebounds, and three assists on 50 percent shooting and 21.4 percent from three-point range. He had 17 points in the second quarter. This was an impressive showcase for Herro because it displayed how much he has improved at attacking the basket. The only flaw of his night was shooting 3 of 14 from the perimeter.

2. Kel’el Ware shined as the only center active for the Heat.

Without Bam Adebayo and Kevin Love, Ware was the only big. He finished with 17 points, nine rebounds, and one block on 57.1 percent shooting and missed all three of his attempts from the perimeter. Since being introduced to the starting lineup, Ware originally got a lot of shot attempts. This hasn’t been the case recently, but he took full advantage of the Maverick’s lack of a center.

3. Kyle Anderson had his best game for the Heat so far.

Anderson finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists on 60 percent shooting and didn’t attempt any shots from the perimeter. Without Andrew Wiggins due to an illness, the Heat put him in the starting lineup, where he had his first double-double performance since 2023. Because of Jaime Jaquez Jr’s inconsistent season, Anderson may be able to gain more minutes as a key part of the roster as everyone gets healthy after the All-Star break.

4. Alec Burks continues to show his veteran value.

Burks finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, and four assists on 42.9 percent shooting and 40 percent from three-point range. As bleak as the Heat’s offense has been lately, he has not been one of them. Nearly every time he’s gotten at least 20 minutes of playing time this season, Burks has been one of the most productive scorers for them. The Heat needed his scoring because they were missing Wiggins and Adebayo.

Bryan Townes is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at btownesjr@gmail.com or on X @bryantownesjr11. Follow our coverage on Facebook.