Tyler Herro #14 of the Miami Heat looks on during the third quarter against the San Antonio Spurs at FTX Arena on February 26, 2022 in Miami, Florida. Megan Briggs/Getty Images/AFP
Tyler Herro scored 29 points off the bench, Max Strus tallied all 16 points in the fourth quarter and the host Miami Heat downed the Detroit Pistons 105-98 on Tuesday.
Bam Adebayo supplied 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists for Miami and Duncan Robinson tossed in 12 points. The Heat outscored the Pistons 37-25 in the fourth quarter and 35-14 at the free throw line.
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Jerami Grant scored 22 points to lead the Pistons, who have lost four straight. Isaiah Livers had 16 points and six rebounds, while Saddiq Bey and Marvin Bagley contributed 13 points apiece.
Miami starting forward Jimmy Butler sprained his right ankle in the first half and did not return. Detroit’s rookie starting guard, Cade Cunningham, missed the game due to a non-COVID illness.
Herro hit the 20-point mark by halftime to carry his team to a 57-51 lead. Miami finished the half with a 13-2 run that included eight points from Herro and five from Markieff Morris.
P.J. Tucker and Robinson made 3-pointers in the first minute of the second half to extend the Heat’s lead to 12 points. Tucker made it 68-54 with a layup.
Miami then went ice cold, going scoreless in the last 6:56 of the quarter while the Pistons went on a 19-0 run. Grant got it started with a 3-pointer and layup. His dunk put the Pistons on top and Livers scored the final points of the quarter with a 3-pointer.
Strus ended the Heat’s drought with a layup 17 seconds into the fourth quarter.
Strus then knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to give Miami a 76-73 lead. He hit another to answer Livers’ 3-pointer, then dropped in a layup to make it 81-76.
The Pistons scored the next six points to retake the lead.
Strus fired in a 3-pointer with 3:34 remaining to give the Heat a 92-89 edge. Herro buried a 3-pointer with 1:57 left to make it 99-94, and Detroit never recovered.