Heat stave off Thunder 115-108 to get bearings back on the road

Consider this a good start.

The Miami Heat’s convincing 115-108 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first game of a two-game road trip won’t erase the stench from their recent woes away from AmericanAirlines Arena, as the team came into Friday’s game 1-4 in their past five road contests.

But it provided a glimpse of the kind of team Miami can be on the road, especially on the defensive end.

“The ice the guys are putting on right now, that’s well earned," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "The guys feel much different just even physically with the amount of energy they expended in this game than last weekend. That doesn’t guarantee anything. But it gives you your best chance.”

The Heat stifled the Thunder, who have the league’s 11th-best offense since Dec. 1, through most of the game before a late-game flurry put a little tarnish on what had been one of the team’s strongest defensive showings on the road in nearly a month.

The Heat led, 105-83, with 8:01 left in the game before Oklahoma City stormed back with a 22-7 run to bring the Miami lead down to seven with a little over two minutes left in the game. Miami held on, holding the Thunder to three points in the game’s final two minutes to move to 29-12 on the season and 11-11 on the road.

Kendrick Nunn finished with a team-high 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting. Derrick Jones Jr. recorded 13 points and 5 rebounds while Duncan Robinson scored 14 points and made four three-pointers.

“We found a way to win, get stops in the end, score some baskets in the end and stay together through it all," said Jimmy Butler, who finished with 14 points and went 7 of 7 on free-throws. "This is one of two that we needed on the road. So let’s build on it.”

Five degrees of Heat from Friday’s game:

1. Starting fast

The Heat ended the first quarter of action with a 40-26 lead on 15-of-23 shooting (65.2 percent) from the field and 6-of-7 shooting (85.7 percent) from beyond the arc.

Miami’s fast start against the Thunder set a team record with its fourth 40-point quarter of this season. The Heat had three such quarters during the 2005-06 and 1993-94 seasons, including the playoffs.

The strong start proved to be necessary for Miami, with the team’s playing to a tie in the middle two quarters and the Thunder winning the fourth quarter, 30-23.

2. Olynyk stepping up

Kelly Olynyk took advantage of the significant minutes to be taken advantage of with Justise Winslow remaining sidelined due to a lower-back bone bruise, and Tyler Herro missing his second consecutive game with a bruised left knee.

Olynyk finished with 12 points and 7 rebounds in 17 minutes, his most playing time since the Heat’s game against the New York Knicks on Dec. 20. His showing against the Thunder was his second game back in the rotation after not receiving playing time in four consecutive games.

“It’s good, especially to contribute to a win, it’s even better," Olynyk said. "Obviously, in this league, you never know. You can be in and out of a lineup, up and down, but the one thing you gotta do is stay ready. You never know who’s going to play and who’s not going to play.

"Guys have to step up when maybe guys are out or different situations and scenarios happen, and you gotta keep putting the work in. Keep going, keep training, keep doing extra stuff and when the time comes make sure you’re ready for that.”

3. Adebayo continues to shine

Bam Adebayo continues to prove why he should be strongly considered for the 2020 All-Star Game in Chicago, finishing with 21 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists on 7-of-11 shooting with most of his scoring damage coming from the first half.

He started the game shooting 7 of 7 from the field and scored 16 of his 21 points in the game’s opening 24 minutes.

4. Typical Butler

With his scoring not as needed during a night when six other Heat players scored in double figures, Butler did what he does best by showing his effectiveness outside of the scoring column.

He paced the team in both rebounds (10) and assists (7) while also recording two blocks and a steal. Butler only had four field goal attempts and one free-throw in the second half.

“I would have liked to have gotten the ball to Jimmy a couple more times," Spoelstra said. "But their pressure kind of moved us around the court a little bit. We were able to keep some poise down the stretch and get a couple of big ones.”

5. Turnovers coming down

After a concerning start, the Heat continue to take care of the ball as the season progresses.

Miami finished the first half with three turnovers and 11 for the game. The Heat’s turnover average has decreased each month of the season. The Heat rank 11th in turnover average during games in January after ranking ninth in December and last during both October and November.