An incredible strike from Nikola Jovic with seven seconds to finish the game gave him a sensational and significant 95-94 victory over the Heat (4-5) over the Minnesota Timberwolves (6-4) on Sunday night at Target Center in Minneapolis to break a three-loss streak.
It was the third game of a six-hour tour that will continue against the Pistons (4-7), on Tuesday (7 p.m.) at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
With the score down 94-92, the Heat had to take the ball out and only needed a two-point basket to tie and go to extra time, but the Miami team extended the odds a lot more.
Duncan Robinson gave Jovic a perfect pass, who not only unwrapped and scored but also caused a foul that allowed him to seal his offensive with three points, after the free throw, just what was necessary to beat.
Also Read: Magellan Navigators Wins Champions of the Clash Tournament 2024
What was admirable was the maturity of a sophomore in the NBA, who was defined in extraordinary cold blood when the game was on the line.
“It was a great execution of Niko in a play designed by the coach,” said Kevin Love, who went on the court for the first time this season with the Heat after feeling absent in the first five challenges for personal reasons and the remaining three to regain his form.
We played a big defensive one and we had already talked to each other to make the adjustments we needed.
For Miami, the best on Sunday night was Tyler Herro with 26 points. For the fourth time in a row, Herro becomes the team’s top scorer. He was followed by Jovic with 15 units, Terry Rozier with 11, Bam Adebayo with nine, and Duncan Robinson with eight.
The Heat started with Love in the starting quintet by Jovic and Haywood Highsmith for Jimmy Butler, who missed his first match this campaign for a right ankle twist in the match against the Nuggets on Friday in Denver.
Jaime Jr. also returned from the bench, out of the rotation the previous three games due to a stomach upset.
Love played a big part during the 13:03 minutes in which he was on the board he looked like a quarterback, passed, attended, ordered and defended with enormous wisdom. He had six points and six rebounds.
Jaquez Jr. printed with Love a new energy to the surflors and scored seven cartons and took five rebounds. The Heat worked well, and even looked superior to the Timberwolves to finish winning 27-20 in the first quarter, thanks to the good deeds of Love, Herro and Jovic.
It should not be forgotten that in the previous encounter in Denver, the surflorida quintet had conceded 40 points against the Nuggets and on this occasion allowed only half. It was a good start.
At the beginning of the second period, the visitors took 10 points ahead and put 30-20 and then 35-23 with a triple from Jovic.
Minnesota reacted and four times approached a point, 41-40, 43-42, 45-44 and 52-51, which was precisely where the slate was stopped for both teams to go to rest with the Heat advantage.
Erik Spoelstra’s troop had improved in every aspect of the game. It is true that the Timberwolves do not have the power of the Nuggets, but anyway it is a team that is going through a good time, coming from winning three games in a row, which has remarkable quality players and the match was essential for the Heat, who struggles to find their identity and not lag behind on the position table.
The defenses were relentless. It will suffice that at one point the slate was frozen 63-56 for more than two minutes without tying.
Finally, with an Edwards triple, Minnesota went ahead on the board 65-63 with 3:23 minutes to finish the third quarter.
The Heat was six and a half minutes unmarked and that allowed the Timberwolves to take advantage until five points won by Jaquez Jr., first with a triple and then with a basket, ended that moment of drought and the Miami team approached to close the third period 71-68.
Entering the fourth period, the Heat lost their way and the local team separated 78-72 and forced coach Spoelstra to ask for time to accommodate his pupils. The visitors recovered and tied 92 the game with two free throws from Rozier, within 30 seconds of the sound of the chicharra.
From there came a Minnesota basket and then the feat of the Miami quintet, which flipped the game and scored its first victory at the Target Center since November 24, 2017. The 95 points of this game against the Timberwolves is their lowest score in the eight games held in this campaign.
Heat tour
November 6: Phoenix 115, Miami 112
November 8: Denver 135, Miami 122
November 10: Miami 95, Minnesota 94
November 12: Miami vs. Detroit
November 15: Miami vs. Indiana
November 17: Miami vs. Indiana
