Heat again tumble from double-digit lead to late-game failure, falling to Thunder, 107-100

OKLAHOMA CITY — Based on their overall record that has them in the middle of the Eastern Conference pack, and even based on their play over the course of recent games, sustained excellence has been an abstract for the Miami Heat.

It has, by contrast, become a way of life for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Against the backdrop of that double dose of reality was a second consecutive night of coming up short by the Heat against a talented Western Conference opponent, this time falling, 107-100, Friday night to the Thunder at Paycom Center.

Again victimized by offensive rebounds and opposing 3-point daggers, the Heat now have lost three of their last five.

Jimmy Butler filled the box score for the Heat, with 20 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. The Heat also got 25 points from rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr. There also were 13 points from newcomer Patty Mills, with the Heat again playing in the injury absence of Tyler Herro.

On the flip side, the Heat got only five points from Bam Adebayo and were outscored 23-5 on second-chance points.

The Heat’s best numbers were offset by 37 points from Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and ensemble scoring from the rest of Oklahoma City’s deep roster.

Five Degrees of Heat from Friday night’s game:

— 1. Closing time: The Heat led 29-27 at the end of the opening period and 57-47 at halftime.

The Heat then went up by 14 for the second time in the game, but that lead was erased by a 17-0 Thunder run in a third period that ended with Oklahoma City up 77-73.

The Heat then moved back within one with 7:16 to play, before a second-chance 3-pointer by Isaiah Joe put the Thunder ahead 91-86. The play left Heat coach Erik Spoelstra livid, as he called an immediate timeout.

The pattern repeated itself with 3:41 to play, when a put-back basket by Jalen Williams created a 95-88 Thunder lead and another immediate Spoelstra timeout.

The Heat then twice got within four, before a Gilgeous-Alexander 3-pointer with 1:36 to play put the Thunder up 104-97.

— 2. Bounce back: Limited to 14 points in Thursday night’s loss in Dallas, Butler this time scored the Heat’s first six points, in attack mode from the outset, taking six of the Heat’s first 12 shots.

He was up to 11 points by the intermission and eclipsed his Thursday total by the later stages of the third period.

He also ultimately was the only source of sustained efficiency from the starting lineup.

But a pair of Butler streaks also came to a close, his run of 16 consecutive games with a 3-pointer and his run of 15 consecutive games with a steal.

— 3. Showing trust: Despite Jaquez being called for two fouls in less than a minute after entering midway through the first period, Spoelstra stuck with his rookie guard.

The payoff was an 11-point first period for Jaquez, who played in attack mode and also helped slow the pace of the Thunder by shooting 4 of 6 from the line in the period.

Jaquez stood with a game-high 17 points at halftime, at 6 of 7 from the field.

— 4. Adebayo struggles: Despite filling the rest of the boxs core, including reaching 10 rebounds by the end of the third period, Adebayo had just three points through three periods, on 1-of-8 shooting.

Entering the night, Adebayo’s season low was seven points in a Nov. 30 loss he played only 12 minutes against the Indiana Pacers before he left with a hip contusion that would keep him out the next seven games.

Adebayo’s only other game scoring in single digits this season was when he scored eight in the Jan. 29 home loss to the Suns.

It was a rough two-game trip offensively, with Adebayo scoring 14 on 5-of-14 shooting in Thursday night’s loss in Dallas.

— 5. Mills debuts: Mills made his Heat debut when he entered with 1:41 to play in the opening period.

He then made his first three shots with the Heat, starting with a pair of second-period 3-pointers, with 11 points in his seven-minute first-half stint.

Spoelstra changed up his rotation approach in the power rotation, as well, playing starting power forward Nikola Jovic as his backup center when Adebayo went to the bench.

With Kevin Love out, Spoelstra previously this past week had played Orlando Robinson or Thomas Bryant at center when Adebayo sat.

Jovic had five first-period rebounds and an early pair of blocked shots.