Tyler Herro goes for 3 instead of open layup, costs Heat late
CHICAGO — The Miami Heat were just about down to their last gasp trailing the Chicago Bulls by five in the closing minute.
Tyler Herro opted to pull up for a 3-pointer rather than drive for a wide-open layup. He missed, and the Heat lost to the Bulls 119-111 in a game with major seeding implications.
“I was feeling that shot,” Herro said. “It’s as simple as that. It’s the shot I was feeling. Looking back on it now, obviously, after missing the shot, I should have laid the ball up.”
Herro came into the game leading the team in scoring with a career-high 23.8 points per game. The sixth-year pro out of Kentucky made his first All-Star team this year, and he came through with another big performance Wednesday, leading the Heat with 30 points.
But the decision he made near the end of the game overshadowed all the shots he hit.
Miami trailed 114-106 when Herro nailed a 3 with just under a minute remaining. Chicago’s Coby White then had the ball near midcourt with Davion Mitchell guarding him.
Herro rotated and poked the ball away from White. Rather than go all the way to the basket with no one in his way and a chance to make it a one-possession game, he opted to pull up along the left wing. His shot hit the back of the rim.
Kevin Huerter got the rebound and dribbled up court. He passed to Matas Buzelis for a 3 from the right corner that bumped the Bulls’ lead to 117-109.
“That kid has made a lot of tough buckets in his career,” Heat star Bam Adebayo said about Herro. “You tip your hat off when he shoots something like that. That’s a killer mentality. To me, that’s one of the best looks he got all night, so you live with that. A 100% y’all wouldn’t be talking about that if he made it.”
The Heat just about locked themselves into the 10th seed in the Eastern Conference. They trail the Bulls by a game with two to play and likely will return to Chicago for a play-in game. Miami had won seven of nine after losing 10 in a row.
The Heat visit New Orleans on Friday before wrapping up the regular season at home against Washington on Sunday.
“You practice good habits and the key things we need to win,” said Miami’s Andrew Wiggins, who finished with 14 points after missing six games because of a right hamstring injury. “Playing together, playing with pace, defense, staying locked in, staying connected.”
Source: espn.com