Heat crumble in 99-90 overtime loss to the Grizzlies

One day after the stunning collapse at home to the Brooklyn Nets, the Miami Heat played a solid game against the Memphis Grizzlies but lost again 99-90 in overtime. Miami stands now with a 18-13 record this season.

For most of the night, the Heat was dominated inside. Memphis outrebounded Miami 46-38 (with 16 offensive rebounds) and scored 14 more points in the paint. The Heat also struggled on the free throw line (9-18) and didn't execute well enough offensively late in the game.

Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade combined for 41 points, Goran Dragic added 16 and Hassan Whiteside scored only 5 points, but collected 11 rebounds and 5 blocks. Without Justise Winslow (still out with an ankle injury) and Josh McRoberts, the second unit was short-handed again but Tyler Johnson had a good game with 13 points. Things didn't go so well for Gerald Green, who had a tough night with 3 points on 1-7 shooting.

For the Grizzlies, Marc Gasol was great on both ends of the floor and finished with 23 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Zach Randolph added 17 points while Jeff Green and Mike Conley each scored 16. Former Heat player Mario Chalmers had 12 points coming off the bench.

Game summary

Early in the game, the Heat and the Grizzlies looked solid offensively and played with good rhythm. The ball was moving on both sides and each team was able to find quality looks. Goran Dragic was great in the first quarter in which he scored ten points without missing a shot, and Chris Bosh nailed two 3-pointers. After twelve minutes, Miami shot 65% from the field and led Memphis 30-26.

In the first minutes of the second quarter, the Grizzlies struggled a little bit on offense because Miami played with more intensity defensively. On the other side of the court, the Heat continued to play with very good offensive execution and was able to attack the paint. Unfortunately, Miami blew a seven point lead in the last five minutes of the first half because of turnovers, one-on-one basketball and questionable inside defense. Memphis closed the period on a 12-5 run and tied the game at 47.

Dominated in the paint during the first half, Miami continued to struggle in that area early in the third quarter. Despite the fact that Whiteside was very active defensively, the Heat gave up too many offensive rebounds. Meanwhile, Miami remained hot from long range thanks to Bosh and scored some easy baskets in transition. With three minutes remaining in the quarter, the game was still tied but Miami was unable to score a point for the rest of the period. And just like that, the Heat trailed Memphis 69-62 with only twelve minutes left to play in the game.

Early in the fourth, Miami cut the deficit to one after two 3-pointers from Green and Dragic, but the Grizzlies answered right back with a 8-0 run. From that point on, Wade kept his team afloat by scoring eight points in three minutes and multiple defensive stops (and big offensive rebounds) allowed Miami to tie the game at 83 with two minutes remaining. Both teams struggled in late game execution and missed all of their shots, including a potential buzzer-beater by Bosh.

In overtime, Memphis started with a 6-0 run and Miami never came back. Marc Gasol was simply amazing on both ends of the court and scored seven points in the period, while the Heat looked a little bit tired on a second night of a back-to-back. The Grizzlies outscored Miami 16-7 in the final five minutes and won the game 99-90.

After two straight losses, the Heat will try to rebound Friday night against the Dallas Mavericks at AmericanAirlines Arena.