Winderman’s view: The night Cain, Jovic, Hampton went from deep freeze to Heat sizzle

MIAMI – Observations and other notes of interest from Thursday night’s 114-102 victory to the Golden State Warriors:

– No, not optimal with Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry, Caleb Martin and Josh Richardson out.

– But also an opportunity.

– So Nikola Jovic showed flashes for the Heat, cast more of a perimeter option on offense and was allowed to settle into the zone defense on the other end.

– In other words, not cast at center.

– Making his minutes matter.

– Jamal Cain also had his moments with his athleticism.

– Including seven first-half points off the bench.

– And kept going from there.

– Shockingly, as a leading man.

– Then there was RJ Hampton making the emergency start.

– And making a difference.

– With Cain and Hampton both taking defensive turns on Stephen Curry.

– Jovic. Cain. Hampton.

– Who saw that coming?

– A day earlier, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra hinted all three could soon be headed to the G League for seasoning.

– But the absences of others afforded opportunity.

– Opportunity largely seized.

– As it was, the lone Heat player sent to the G League was center Orlando Robinson.

– With the Heat’s smaller-ball approach allowing for that move.

– With even Thomas Bryant out of Thursday’s mix.

– At this point of the season, the opportunities are limited for the end of the bench.

– With this the rare night when everyone was brought forward.

– And stepped forward.

– With Butler, Lowry and Martin out, the Heat opened with a lineup of Bam Adebeyo, Haywood Highsmith, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Tyler Herro and Hampton.

– Hampton became the 14th Heat player to start at least one game this season.

– It was the Heat’s 17th lineup in their 31 games.

– Inactive for the Heat were Butler, Lowry, Martin, Dru Smith and Orlando Robinson.

– The Warriors opened with a lineup of Curry, Klay Thompson, Brandin Podziemski, Jonathan Kuminga and Kevon Looney.

– Kevin Love and Duncan Robinson entered together as the first two Heat reserves.

– Cain then followed for eight deep.

– Jovic then made it nine deep when he entered at the start of the second period.

– That left Bryant and Cole Swider as the lone available Heat players not to enter.

– The Heat entered with 60 first-half points in four in a row, one off the franchise record set in February 2020.

– That streak ended with their 58-51 halftime lead.

– The Warriors entered on an eight-game home winning streak.

– Golden State entered leading the league in rebounding.

– With the Heat holding their own in that regard.

– Even amid the Warriors’ uneven season, Spoelstra said at the morning shootaround that Golden State continues to present unique challenges.

– “They have a dynamic style of play with Curry and Thompson,” Spoelstra said, “create a lot of different triggers or overreactions.”

– He added of the challenge, “We have to stay true to what we do. And for us, we know what our identity is defensively, making tough, physical, multiple-effort plays and we have to stay with it emotionally and mentally, even if they hit some of those shots that have a high degree of difficulty. You just got to stay with it and take away easy ones as much as possible.”