The Pistons beat Miami 128-111, led by as much as 23 and never trailed. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 36 points and 12 rebounds, but the defense gave up 128 two nights after giving up 131.
Buried by Tipoff
Detroit scored the first 11 points before Miami got on the board. Erik Spoelstra called timeout down 17-2 with 8:45 left in the opening period, then called another down 27-12. The Pistons finished the quarter up 41-26. The Heat never led and never tied it. The game ended 128-111.
The Third Ended It
Miami took the second quarter 27-24 and trailed 62-53 late in the half. Then Detroit scored eight straight across the break, and after a Heat bucket it scored eight more, to go up 78-57 and force a Miami timeout. A 10-0 run late in the third made it 101-78. Detroit scored 38 in the quarter, and nothing Miami did afterward mattered. Taking the fourth 31-25 is a footnote.
Who Was Out There
Spoelstra kept Bam Adebayo, Davion Mitchell, Antetokounmpo, Pelle Larsson and Tim Hardaway Jr. in through the last five meaningful minutes, but it was 119-101 by then. The reserves finished, and Nick Richards hit a three with two seconds left to set the final margin. Mitchell went -24, Antetokounmpo -23 and Adebayo -22 in 23 minutes. Bobby Portis Jr. was the best at +6, and Nikola Jovic was +1. The starters outscored the bench 72-31, and the starting group still lost by double digits.
Grades
Antetokounmpo, B: 36 points on 15-of-26 shooting with 12 rebounds and five assists, offset by three turnovers and a -23. Portis, B: 11 points, eight rebounds, 3-of-6 from deep and no turnovers in 21 minutes. Andrew Wiggins, D: 3-of-12 and a -19 in 26 minutes. Klay Thompson, F: all 11 of his shots were threes and two went in. Meanwhile Duncan Robinson hit five threes and went +22 against his old team, John Collins was 5-of-6 from deep and Paul Reed went 8-of-11 off the bench.
Bottom Line
Miami is 0-2, 13th in the East, half a game behind the Nets for 10th and a game behind the Celtics for sixth. The defense has allowed 131 and 128, and that comes before any talk about the roster. Charlotte is next. The Hornets are 1-1 and list Kon Knueppel, Coby White and Grant Williams with injuries, while Kylan Boswell is out. Dallas comes to Miami on October 26. A third straight loss at this level of effort would be on the players, not the schedule.
Why did the Heat lose to the Pistons?
Detroit opened on an 11-0 run, scored 41 in the first quarter and won the third 38-27 to turn it into a blowout. Miami never held a lead.
How did Giannis Antetokounmpo play against Detroit?
He scored 36 points on 15-of-26 shooting with 12 rebounds and five assists. He also finished at -23 with three turnovers.
