Heat storm back in fourth quarter to beat Pistons 100-92

The Miami Heat earned a gritty road win with a 100-92 win over the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night thanks to a season-high 31 points from Tyler Herro and a fourth quarter rally to turn the game around.

They were down by 12 points with three minutes left in the third quarter, but a lineup of Kyle Lowry, Herro, Gabe Vincent, Caleb Martin and Dewayne Dedmon powered a monster Heat run with a zone defense that stifled the Pistons. A pair of back-to-back 3-pointers from Herro helped spark the run and once the Heat got going they were finally able to not only come back but lead by 12 points themselves.

This sequence nicely sums up how the team turned it around.

Kyle Lowry had been relatively quiet up until the fourth quarter, having assisted just once in the first three quarters. But he came through when the team needed him the most to jumpstart the offense with seven assists and seven points in the fourth quarter. Miami exploded for 33 points and held Detroit to just 16 points and outrebounded them 20-6 in the final 12 minutes.

Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, who both finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists each, mostly looked on while the Heat turn the game around, but got in on the fun to help secure the road win. Lowry also chipped in 15 points, six rebounds and eight assists.

But it was Herro’s night to remember, with a dazzling array of offensive moves in the second half to keep the Heat afloat when they were simply attempting to maintain striking distance to the Pistons. His killer instinct down the road was needed with the home team refusing to give up.

He wasn’t the only reserve to make a positive impact on the game, with Martin (+22), Dedmon (+14), Vincent (+20) joining Herro (+15) as the leaders in +/- for the team tonight.

Jerami Grant led the Pistons with 21 points, but No. 1 overall draft pick Cade Cunningham had a quiet six points and six assists, and looked exhausted at times trying to keep up with Lowry. Reserves Frank Jackson and Hamidou Diallo had some nice moments off the bench, but the team quite frankly needed a veteran like Lowry or Butler to settle them down and guide the offense.

Instead it was Miami who stepped up and took care of business against a team missing two starters and trying to win at home for just the third time in 10 games. They improved their road record to 6-5 as they get set to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves tomorrow night.