Heat waste almost all of 19-point lead, scramble to hold off Pistons 103-102
MIAMI (AP) — Bam Adebayo scored 22 points, Jimmy Butler finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds and the Miami Heat held off the Detroit Pistons 103-102 on Wednesday night in the season opener for both clubs.
Tyler Herro scored 16 points, Duncan Robinson added 15 and Kevin Love had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat — who led by 19 with 9:07 left, wasted almost all of it and went scoreless in the final 2:57.
Cade Cunningham had 30 points and nine assists for the Pistons. Jalen Duren had 17 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and four blocks for Detroit, Isaiah Stewart had 14 points and 14 rebounds and Killian Hayes scored 10.
Detroit trailed by 19 early in the fourth, then put together a 14-0 run — spanning only 2:43 — to get within 94-89, the closest the Pistons had been to the lead since midway through the second quarter.
The lead was pushed back to eight, and Detroit just came back again. Cunningham hit a 3 off a turnover to get Detroit within 103-102, and the Pistons had three shots in the final 64 seconds that would have given them the lead.
All missed, and so did one last opportunity. Hayes inbounded the ball to Cunningham with 2.5 seconds left, but his well-defended 30-footer missed as time expired.
Miami improved to 20-16 all-time in openers, 10-6 under coach Erik Spoelstra. Detroit fell to 38-40 in openers, and dropped the first game of the Monty Williams coaching era with the Pistons.
The Heat led most of the way, and needed every bit of that lead to survive in the end. By halftime, Miami had a 21-3 lead in points off turnovers (it was 21-0 late in the half), a 9-0 lead in fast-break points and a 30-12 lead on points in the paint.
And the Heat lead was just 58-47 at the break. The reason: Cunningham.
He was brilliant, shooting 8 of 11 for 18 points in the first two quarters. But his teammates shot only 10 of 30 in the opening half, while Miami was far more balanced — three players in double figures, five with at least seven points by the break.
Luis Arraez, the 2023 batting champion from the Miami Marlins, and actor Sylvester Stallone were in the sold-out crowd. There were a pair of tributes — one in-game for longtime Heat season-ticket holder Jimmy Buffett, the singer-songwriter who spent decades of his life in the Florida Keys, and the other a pregame moment for longtime Heat stat crew chief Jim Cox. Both died in September.
UP NEXT
Pistons: Visit Charlotte on Friday.
Heat: Visit Boston on Friday.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba