NBA: Bojan Bogdanovic pours in 31 as Pistons handle Heat
FILE – Bojan Bogdanovic #44 of the Detroit Pistons reacts against the Orlando Magic during the second quarter at Little Caesars Arena on October 19, 2022 in Detroit, Michigan. Nic Antaya/Getty Images/AFP
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 28 of his 31 points in the second half as the Detroit Pistons rallied to a 116-96 win over the host Miami Heat on Tuesday night.
Miami, which had a five-game home winning streak snapped, led by 11 points in the first half and by seven points in the third quarter. The Heat were powered by Tyler Herro, who scored a game-high 34 points on 12-for-17 shooting. He also had six assists.
Bam Adebayo added 21 points and a game-high 15 rebounds for the Heat.
Detroit started the season 0-10 on the road, but the Pistons have won three of their past four games away from home.
Bogdanovic made 12 of 16 shots from the floor, including 7 of 9 from 3-point range.
Bojan Bogdanovic in the Pistons W:
31 PTS
3 REB
5 AST
3 STL
7 3PM pic.twitter.com/Uc85n3iNzn— NBA (@NBA) December 7, 2022
Detroit’s bench outscored Miami’s reserves 54-19.
Another major factor was the Pistons shooting 19 of 41 (46.3 percent) on 3-point tries. Miami shot 10 of 32 (31.3 percent) from beyond the arc.
Miami was without three members of its rotation, leading scorer Jimmy Butler (right knee) plus Gabe Vincent (left knee) and Dewayne Dedmon (left foot). The Heat are now 4-6 this season without Butler.
However, Miami did get some good news as Victor Oladipo, plagued by knee injuries, made his season debut. Oladipo, who played just eight games last season, scored nine points in 19 minutes on Tuesday. He made 3 of 9 shots from the floor.
Detroit star Cade Cunningham (left shin) missed his 14th straight game. Isaiah Livers (right shoulder) also was out.
Miami led 20-25 after the first quarter as the Heat shot 50 percent from the floor and had a 13-7 rebounding advantage. Detroit was held to 33 percent shooting.
Detroit took its first lead of the second quarter on Isaiah Stewart’s layup with 3:38 left. A Bogdanovic 3-pointer on their next possession capped an 11-2 Pistons run, giving Detroit a 43-38 lead.
However, the Heat recovered and led 50-47 at halftime. Herro had 21 first-half points on 7-for-7 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers.
Detroit outscored Miami 31-23 in the third quarter as Bogdanovic put up 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting, including 2-for-3 accuracy on 3-point attempts.
The Pistons cruised in the fourth quarter, and they wound up at 49.4 percent from the floor for the game. Miami shot 42.9 percent.
