This was the ultimate definition of defensive insanity.
Over and over the Miami Heat would rotate to make sure Ja Morant wouldn’t go on a scoring binge, cover the paint to keep Jonas Valanciunas from inflicting further damage after his 15-point first quarter ... as, all the while, Memphis Grizzlies players would spot up in the corners to drain open 3-pointers.
The same thing, over and over.
And rarely a different result, with the Grizzlies snapping the Heat’s four-game winning streak with a 124-112 decision Tuesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.
With Dillon Brooks dominating the third quarter, the Grizzlies proved offensively overwhelming on a night Brooks closed with 28 points, Valanciunas 20 and Kyle Anderson 19.
Even with Jimmy Butler scoring 28, Tyler Herro 19 and Bam Adebayo adding 18 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, this was all about the defensive end for the Heat, or, more to the point, those short corners beyond the 3-point line.
The Grizzlies closed 17 of 41 on 3-pointers, with Morant finishing with 10 points.
———
Five Degrees of Heat from Tuesday’s game:
1. Closing time: Down by as many as 10 earlier, the Heat went into the fourth quarter trailing 96-89.
It quickly escalated from there, with the Grizzlies moving ahead by 15 less than four minutes into the period.
By the midpoint of the fourth, it’s as if Heat coach Erik Spoelstra had seen enough, called for a technical foul.
2. Brooks ignites: Brooks scored 23 of his points in the third quarter, on 8-of-11 shooting from the field, including 4 of 5 on 3-pointers.
It the second-highest single-quarter output in Grizzlies history to the 26 points scored by Jaren Jackson Jr. in the third quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks on Dec. 13, 2019.
3. Corner gold: The Heat’s defense has been known to concede corner 3-pointers, at times at alarming rates.
This was one of those nights, with Anderson and Brooks feasting on the looks as the Heat defense played in scramble mode.
“They get out, they pressure ballhandlers. They double team pick and rolls. They commit five guys to one side of the floor at times and really try to take away the paint,” Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said pregame of the Heat defense.
So the Grizzlies put the Heat defense in motion and then settled in comfortably from behind the arc in the corners, often uncontested, as if the Heat were one man short on defense.
4. Across the board: Adebayo was up to 16 points, eight rebounds and eight assists when he went to the bench midway through the third quarter. He was 8 of 11 at that stage, mostly on a series of midrange jumpers.
Adebayo previously recorded a triple-double in the Feb. 18 victory in Sacramento, who he closed with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
5. Robinson, again: Heat guard Duncan Robinson closed 4 of 7 on 3-pointers, after playing through early foul trouble.
With his second 3-pointer, Robinson extended his streak with multiple conversions behind the arc to 15 games, the second longest streak in franchise history. He set the record of 24 such consecutive games last season.
