Heat unveil their next big thing, with Adebayo-Ware sparking 128-107 victory over Spurs

MIAMI — A sense of a drama has been in the air for weeks with the Miami Heat, and drama was exactly what was delivered Sunday at Kaseya Center.

Even more dramatic was the drama did not involve Jimmy Butler.

Instead, the waiting game for the next big thing for the Heat is over, delivered by coach Erik Spoelstra when he paired rookie 7-footer Kel’el Ware with starting center Bam Adebayo.

From there, good things, very good things, followed, with the Heat going from an early 13-point deficit to a 128-107 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

“That was definitely the initial spark to the game,” Spoelstra said of the Adebayo-Ware pairing. “They just were tremendous defensively. That kind of united the energy for the group.”

The victory not only snapped a three-game losing streak and gave the Heat a winning record, 21-20, at the midpoint of their season, but also opened a window into the team’s next big thing.

“They were dynamic,” Spoelstra said. “This is something that we’ve been slowly starting to work on.”

While a turnaround in the team’s 3-point shooting ultimately turned the game, the energy of Ware and Adebayo on the court together managed to take the focus away from the ongoing differences that have Butler on the trade market.

That made it a win-win game for even more than Adebayo-Ware.

With the Spurs prioritizing stopping Tyler Herro, face-guarding him defensively, it turned into one of the Heat’s more balanced outings of the season.

Ware led the way with 25 points, a total padded late in the runaway rout, with the Heat also getting 21 points from Duncan Robinson, 20 from Terry Rozier, 18 from Herro and 14 from Nikola Jovic, as well as 11 rebounds from Adebayo and seven assists from Butler.

After a sizzling start from Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, the Heat, with their new big lineup, were able to limit him to a final 21 points and 10 rebounds.

“The biggest thing is to enjoy this win,” Adebayo said, “but understand we’ve got to keep on going.”

Five Degrees of Heat from Sunday’s game

— Game flow: The Spurs led 30-20 after the first period before the Heat came back to take a 46-41 lead at halftime.

The second-quarter surge began when Ware was inserted alongside Adebayo, with the momentum continuing into the third period, when the Heat pushed their lead into the 20s by the middle of the quarter.

At that point, the Heat had the Spurs scrambling for counter combinations, with the Heat taking a 92-68 lead into the fourth.

The Heat outscored the Spurs 46-27 in the third period, shooting 17 of 24 from the field in the period, including 8 of 10 on 3-pointers.

“This old head coach has been trying to get this team to connect the dots,” Spoelstra said. “Usually when we defend, when we play with that energy, the basket gets bigger for us. The offense hasn’t been where we want it to be all year long, but it has been in the games we’ve been able to defend.”

— Two-man game: After pairing the two previously solely at the end of periods in previous games, Spoelstra relented and put Adebayo and Ware on the court together with 7:19 to play in the second period and the Heat down seven.

From there, the Heat went on a 14-2 run that featured Adebayo kicking out for a Ware 3-pointer.

“It was exciting,” Ware said of the extended run with the pairing. “Me and Bam have been wanting it to happen. We showed people what it looks like.”

In the alignment, Ware played as the floor spacer, allowing Adebayo still to work in the lane. On the opposite side, it allowed Adebayo to better utilize his perimeter skills, with Ware’s length utilized against the opposing center.

“Now,” Adebayo said with a smile, “I’ve got a guy to throw a lob to.”

The Heat outscored the Spurs by 27 points with Ware on the floor, but 19 when Adebayo was on the court.

— The Daily Butler: This time there were more discernable boos for Butler both during the introductions and then when he got to the foul line for the first time.

Butler played the first 10:15, with six points, one rebound and no assists to that stage, the Heat’s leading scorer.

But unlike Friday night’s largely disinterested performance, Butler settled in more as a playmaker, thriving in the alignment with Adebayo and Ware, with all seven assists of his in that third period.

He closed with eight points on 3-of-7 shooting, as well as three rebounds and two steals.

Instead, the Spurs made Herro their ultimate focus, face-guarding him defensively with rookie Stephon Castle.

“It’s starting to be an every-night thing,” said Herro, who was still able to overcome the attention to close 7 of 12 from the field, with seven assists and six rebounds.

— Robinson revival: Yes, that was a third-quarter dunk by Robinson, as he stepped up to fuel the third-quarter turnaround with his 3-point shooting.

“A dunk is like seeing a blue moon, for me,” Robinson said. “You don’t see it often. So every time you get one, you’re going to celebrate a little bit.”

After the Heat opened 0 for 8 on 3-pointers, Robinson ended that drought in the second period and kept on going, with his spacing essential in the alignment with Ware and Adebayo.

Robinson shot 3 of 4 on 3-pointers in the third period

— The other two: Rozier and Jovic both had their moments as the Heat settled into a different reserve rotation with Ware playing more with the starters.

Jovic, who then played as the first big man off the bench, finished 5 of 8 from the field, including 4 of 6 on 3-pointers.

Rozier had one of his best games of the season, at 7 of 14 from the field, including 4 of 5 on 3-pointers.

Jovic and Rozier each had five assists.

“We were just trying to play off each other,” Rozier said of Jovic. “Niko is easy to play with. So just trying to develop that chemistry.”

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