MIAMI — Based on how the season opened with Wednesday night’s 25-point home loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, this was the rare second game of a season that had a must-win feel.
Instead, it will be the Heat’s third game of the season, on Saturday night against the Charlotte Hornets, that now will carry such weight.
Blown out for the second time in as many games during this start to the Giannis Antetokounmpo era, the Heat this time fell 128-111 to the Detroit Pistons at Kaseya Center.
“Our preseason was great,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “And everything was terrific in training camp, it was pretty smooth, it was pretty easy. You could see the vision of where we’re going, and where we will end up. We’re facing a little bit of adversity to start.
“Probably the best thing for us to do is go on the road with a tough turnaround, with less than 24 hours to play our next game. I think that’s what our team needs.”
As in the opener, Antetokounmpo did his part, closing with 36 points, after scoring 35 on Wednesday night.
But as with that loss to the Timberwolves, the support system wasn’t there, with early foul trouble creating a particularly miserable night for Antetokounmpo frontcourt running mate Bam Adebayo, who closed with four points and five rebounds.
“I think we can be better. I think we can be a lot better,” Antetokounmpo said. “I feel like we just expect that the other teams come in this building and lay down and let us play our game. But it’s not going to be that way. Teams are good. Minnesota is good. Detroit is good.”
For the second time in as many games, the defense wasn’t there when needed. For the second time in as many games, the 3-point shooting couldn’t keep pace. And for the second time in two games, preseason good will turned into crowd impatience, this time with jeers in the third period as the deficit moved into the 20s.
“We’ll get there,” Spoelstra said. “These are two frustrating games, where we weren’t able to command the game the way we know we’re capable of. And sometimes you just can’t explain it.”
Five Degrees of Heat from Friday night’s game:
1. Game flow: The Pistons moved to 11-0 and 17-2 leads, with their lead later moving to 17 before the Heat closed the opening period down 41-26.
“I mean, the start of the game, they just blitzed us up from three,” Spoelstra said.
From there, the Heat then went into halftime down 65-53.
“Twice, we let the other team hit first,” Antetokounmpo said of these opening two games. “We’ve got to set the tone. We’ve got to figure out a way to set the tone.”
Even with Pistons center Jalen Duren sidelined for the night in the second period with a thigh ailment and Ausar Thompson limping off in the third, with the two playing only a combined 19 minutes, the Pistons did not miss a beat at the start of the second half, moving to a 78-57 lead with 9:19 left in the third period, forcing Spoelstra to call time.
It was 103-80 Pistons entering the fourth.
“We just need to play better,” Spoelstra said. “We need to compete and do things better until we get that first W.”
2. Early trouble: The Heat rotation had to be adjusted early, with Adebayo called for his second foul with 5:50 left in the opening period and forced to the bench in favor of Bobby Portis.
Spoelstra then gambled by reinserting Adebayo with 2:35 left in the opening period, in order to give Antetokounmpo his first rest.
The gamble did not pay off, with Adebayo called for his third foul with 1:13 left in that first period, again forced to the bench.
Adebayo was scoreless with two rebounds in those initial eight first-period minutes, the Heat then opening the second period with Portis at center.
“Obviously I can’t have three fouls in the first quarter, which is crazy,” Adebayo said. “It’s just aggravating when they come to me at halftime and say one or two of them were bad ones. At that point, damage is done.”
3. Almost more: It appeared that Davion Mitchell also would be sidelined early with a second foul, but the Heat challenged that call with 4:38 left in the opening period and won the video ruling, allowing Mitchell to play on.
At the time, Mitchell was the lone Heat player to make a 3-pointer, draining an early pair. Mitchell closed that first period with a team-high 10 points, with no teammate with more than five.
Mitchell closed with 18 points and five assists.
“I got to figure out how to do a better job of getting them shots,” Mitchell said of running the offense, “and just to get a feel to a game. And we also got to just have a better start.
“I think both games we got hit in the mouth. So I think we’ve got to do a better job of just keep being aggressive.”
4. Giannis’ night: After going for those 35 points in Wednesday night’s season opener, Antetokounmpo got off to an uneven start, forced by the Pistons into several jumpers.
The extended minutes as Adebayo sat with foul trouble also took a toll, with Antetokounmpo forced to the bench late in the second period with a third foul of his own.
After an 11-point, 4-of-11 first half, he came around in the third quarter, with 16 third-period points.
He closed 15 of 26 from the field, with 12 rebounds and five assists.
“We just got to spark it. Somebody has to spark it. That’s all,” Antetokounmpo said of the team needing a jolt. “We know, we’ve seen it. We know it’s here. I don’t know if it’s getting to know one another more now because it’s official games. I don’t know if it’s jitter, a little bit nervous, new season. I don’t know what it is.”
5. The 3 thing: The thought after completing their offseason moves was the Heat reloaded with ample 3-point shooting. Instead, more struggles, after being outscored 63-24 on 3-pointers in the opening loss to the Timberwolves.
This time, Klay Thompson opened 1 of 7 from beyond the arc, Andrew Wiggins 1 of 6, Pelle Larsson 1 of 4, Tim Hardaway Jr. 1 of 4 and Mitchell 2 of 8.
On a night the Pistons’ Duncan Robinson and John Collins had five 3-pointers apiece by the midpoint of the third period, that hardly was optimal.
The Heat closed 15 of 51 on 3-pointers, the Pistons 18 of 38.
“The basket went the other way for us,” Spoelstra said. “It got smaller and smaller and smaller even when we had open looks. I think the basket got bigger for them.”