Heat fall in OT to Pistons after Spoelstra gets technical foul for calling timeout he did not have

DETROIT — Erik Spoelstra called timeout.

His team did not have one.

That is how the Miami Heat lost Tuesday night to the Detroit Pistons.

So despite Tyler Herro’s 40 points, despite a fourth-quarter rally, despite a go-ahead basket with 1.8 seconds to play, this 123-121 overtime loss will be remembered for none of that.

It will be the game the Heat lost when they first allowed a tying, wide-open dunk with 1.1 seconds to play ... and when Spoelstra then walked on the court to settle his team.

At a time the Heat coach couldn’t.

No timeouts remaining.

So a Malik Beasley hit a free throw.

And that basically was that.

No, the NBA’s in-season tournament is not one-and-done.

But it might have felt that way Tuesday night at Little Caesars Arena.

Against an opponent that has taken seemingly permanent residence in the lottery in recent years, the Heat opened their four games of stage play in the NBA Cup with a loss still hard to fathom.

Five Degrees of Heat from Tuesday night’s game:

— 1. Closing time: The Pistons led 32-21 at the end of the first period, took a 57-51 advantage into halftime and were up 91-82 going into the fourth.

Detroit then moved to a 14-point lead early in the fourth.

But with Herro converting back-to-back 3-pointers, the second with 32.2 seconds to play in regulation, the Heat suddenly had it tied at 111-111.

That was how it ended in regulation, after a turnover by the Pistons’ Cade Cunningham and a wayward shot by Herro.

— 2. Overtime: A Bam Adebayo 3-point play and a Duncan Robinson put-back put the Heat up 118-116 midway through the extra period, with an Adebayo free throw pushing the lead to 119-116 with 55 seconds to play.

But that’s when Beasley converted a 3-pointer to tie it 119-119 with 40.9 seconds to play.

In the midst of his ugly night, Heat guard Terry Rozier then stepped out of bounds, giving the ball back to the Pistons in a tie with 28 seconds left.

From there, the Heat forced a jump ball with 17 seconds to play, with Adebayo winning the tip and the Heat calling their final timeout.

A driving, leaning bank shot by Herro then put the Heat up 121-119 with 1.8 seconds to play, leading to the Pistons’ final timeout.

But a driving dunk by Jalen Duren tied it with 1.1 seconds to play.

And then the Spoelstra technical foul for calling the timeout the Heat did not have.

— 3. A wild second: The second quarter just about had it all, including the Pistons surging to an 18-point lead, the Heat retaking the lead with a 23-4 rally, and then Detroit bouncing back to take its six-point lead into the intermission.

The Heat’s surge was fueled, in part, by a turnaround from Adebayo, who scored nine points in the second quarter on 4-of-8 shooting, after going without a shot or point in the first period.

Robinson helped fuel the second-quarter surge with a pair of 3-pointers, as he continues to regain a rhythm, particularly while playing alongside Adebayo.

Robinson played all 12 minutes in the second period, as did Adebayo and Haywood Highsmith.

— 4. Jovic sidelined: Two nights after scoring the winning points against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Nikola Jovic this time was lost for the night with 5:22 to play in the opening period after a collision with Beasley, on a play Jovic was called for a foul.

Jovic was injured while battling for a loose ball, banging heads with Beasley and taking the brunt of the collision to his nose. He was ruled out from that point with reduced septum.

Jovic, playing off the bench for the second consecutive game after starting the first eight, wound up going only 2:30, closing with two points and one rebound.

— 5. Even uglier: There then was a lengthy delay with 8:46 to play in the third period, on a sequence that began with a Herro drive and ended with Herro being fouled by the Pistons forward Tim Hardaway Jr.

During the sequence, Hardaway took an inadvertent Adebayo elbow to the face, a jolt from Herro and then was inadvertently kicked in the head by Pistons center Jalen Duren, who had been knocked off balance.

Bleeding from the top of his head, Hardaway attempted to rise but ultimately was taken off the court in a wheelchair.

Among those in attendance was Hardaway’s father, Heat icon Tim Hardway, who has lived in the area since serving as a Pistons assistant coach and visited in the Heat locker room before the game.