Duncan Robinson sinks 9 3s, Heat crush Cavs 124-100

In a span of 42 seconds late in the second quarter of the Miami Heat’s home game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Duncan Robinson sank three 3-pointers. Miami’s lead ballooned from 14 to 23. Cleveland coach John Beilein, who coached Robinson at Michigan, called a timeout.

A minute-and-a-half later, Robinson nailed another 3-pointer. This one was from 36 feet.

Robinson made seven of his nine 3-pointers in an electric 43-point second quarter that led the Heat to a dominant win over the Cavaliers for the second time in six days. He scored a career-high 29 points on the night, and he was just one 3 shy of matching the Heat franchise record for 3-pointers.

This game mirrored all of the Heat’s wins over sub-par teams since returning from their uneven 1-2 West coast road trip a couple weeks ago. Miami built up a big lead in the first half, saw it slip and then did enough to put the game to rest. Wednesday night, the Cavaliers cut a 30-point lead to 16 early in the fourth quarter before the Heat regained their control on the contest.

Another commonality from the Heat’s last four games — a plethora of turnovers. The Heat committed 23 of them Wednesday night. It remains the one glaring disappointment in the midst of an otherwise encouraging start to the season. Heat rookies Kendrick Nunn and Tyler Herro combined for 10 turnovers.

Aside from their turnovers, Nunn and Herro provided some good scoring for Miami. Herro dropped 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field including four 3s. Nunn added 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

Jimmy Butler shot just 3-of-16 from the field, but made all 13 attempts at the free throw line. He was also 2-for-4 from deep, which was encouraging since he has been mostly quiet from downtown to start the season. Butler missed some shots he normally makes, but I liked his aggression. He also added his all-around game — chipping in five rebounds, five assists and four blocks. Just look at him get this steal.

Goran Dragic, who sat out Miami’s last game with an illness, scored 13 points and dished out six assists in 26 minutes. Kelly Olynyk added 10 points, including two 3-pointers.

Bam Adebayo scored Miami’s first eight points and finished with 13 overall. Both Adebayo and Chris Silva need to improve their free-throw shooting. Adebayo was just 3-for-6, and Silva was 0-for-4. On the flip side, Silva corralled six offensive rebounds. He and Adebayo offered their usual energy on both ends of the floor.

Foul trouble for Silva gave Udonis Haslem his second appearance of the season. The 17-year veteran scored three points, all of which came from the foul line, in five minutes. James Johnson did not get off the bench, even during mop-up time.

The Heat will fly to Chicago to face the Bulls for an 8 p.m. Friday game.