Myron Gardner had a career night in the Miami Heat’s 122-120 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. (Mandatory Credit: Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
Myron Gardner hasn’t seen the hardwood often for the Miami Heat this season.
The undrafted rookie — who spent the two previous seasons in the Orlando Magic organization — had played a total of 68 minutes heading into this weekend. The 6-foot-5 guard had played more than five minutes thrice, including twice since the start of the New Year.
Within the Heat walls, one saying that will ring through every player’s ears is, “Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.” As a result of injuries to Davion Mitchell, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Tyler Herro, Gardner’s name was called … at 3 a.m., catching two flights to arrive in Miami ahead of the team’s matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
And he blossomed.
Gardner, 24, tallied a career-high 11 points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting, including 3-of-3 from 3-point range in 15 minutes off the Heat bench in their two-point win. He trailed only Simone Fontecchio (13 points) in Heat points off the bench.
Beyond statistics, there’s one word to describe how Gardner plays, whether it was in Summer League, with the Sioux Falls Skyforce (or Osceola Magic) or Miami.
Energy.
“Myron is our energy. I don’t know how to really describe Myron,” Heat captain Bam Adebayo said with a smile. “You just have to hang around him. He’s the person that has this ‘kid energy.’ You know when kids that run around all day and you’re always looking at them like, ‘I wish I had that much energy.’ He is that.”
“I can’t describe Myron. But you need teammates like him. Throw him in the game and he’s going to play as hard as possible. … When Myron checks in the game, you instantly feel a difference. He’s going to compete. He’s going to play hard. He’s going to defend. He’s going to foul. But, like I said, you need somebody like that on your roster because he can spark the energy of the arena, the players on the court, the coaching staff.
“He has that type of energy. He can spark us.”
That’s exactly what Gardner did, too.
The Heat trailed by 12 points — 52-40 — when Gardner checked in with 6:21 left in the first half. Gardner instantaneously knocked down a pair of triples in his first 40 seconds, plus one more 40 seconds after that, trimming the lead to 52-49.
He later swatted a Luguentz Dort floater. Not long after checking in, in the third quarter, Gardner scored his fourth-and-final bucket: A putback dunk.
Once again, he was instant energy.
Against the Oklahoma City Thunder without three of your top contributors, it was all hands on deck for the Heat. Everyone needed to contribute, and in some capacity, everyone did, including Gardner, the team’s unsung hero as the 10th man.
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