The Miami Heat lost a nail-biter to the Sacramento Kings, falling 111-110 after a hard-fought NBA game. Despite leading at halftime, the Heat struggled with a rough third quarter, and Jimmy Butler didn’t hold back in addressing the issues he saw.
The Heat entered the third quarter with a 13-point lead, only to be outscored 37-13 by the Kings, giving Sacramento the momentum to pull ahead. Butler pointed to mental toughness as a key reason for the Heat’s lapse.
“When we ain’t making shots, that’s normally when teams start to go on runs,” Butler said. “We don’t get back. We don’t defensive rebound it. It is a defensive thing, but for us, it’s more offense when we don’t see that ball going through that basket. I think that mentally, we have to be stronger and tougher to get stops still. And I think that’s the main problem. That’s what you see in the third quarter.”
The Heat have had multiple third-quarter setbacks this season. They experienced similar struggles against the Knicks, giving up a 35-22 third quarter after leading by six at halftime, and again in the season opener versus the Orlando Magic, where they were outscored 39-18 in the third.
Jimmy Butler #22 of the Miami Heat controls the ball against DeMar DeRozan #10 of the Sacramento Kings during the second half at Kaseya Center. Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
Spoelstra on the third-quarter problem
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra acknowledged the issue, noting the team’s need to “take a stand” to fix their third-quarter woes. “I don’t know, we’ve looked at everything,” Spoelstra said. “At some point, you just have to take a stand to say enough is enough with these third quarters.”
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“We played a great half again,” Spoelstra continued. “I feel like we out-played them in those other quarters. We’re gonna have to figure it out. I thought we responded much better in the fourth quarter. If you take the lead, go up five points, then up three, you should win those games. We just weren’t able to.”
Heat gear up for road trip
The Heat now head out on a six-game road trip starting Wednesday against the Phoenix Suns, followed by games against the Nuggets, Timberwolves, Pistons, and two matchups with the Pacers.
Tyler Herro emphasized the importance of turning the page and focusing on the upcoming road stretch. “I mean, we can always take something from a game like this,” Herro said. “But definitely have to move on to the next game. We leave tomorrow for a six-game road trip, and it’s an important one. Early in the season, we got to get some wins on the road.”
