Takeaways from Heat's first defeat of the season against a team with a losing record

MEMPHIS, Tenn. _ If there's one word to describe the Heat this season, a good one would be resilient.

Already with five overtime wins this season, the never-say-die Heat rallied from a 17-point deficit to take its first lead of the game with 5:57 to play. But Miami couldn't seal the deal Monday, with the Grizzlies (10-17) hanging on for a 118-111 win over the Heat (19-8) at FedEx Forum.

Memphis closed on a 14-4 run to earn the victory.

Here are five takeaways from the Heat's loss to the Grizzlies ...

1. Despite the Grizzlies' 9-17 record entering Monday's game, this one was never going to be easy as it seemed for the Heat. Memphis came in playing its best basketball of the season with wins in three of its previous four games.

The Grizzlies made it known from the start that it wasn't going to be an easy night for the Heat. Memphis shot 7 of 8 on threes in the opening period to end the first quarter with a 36-32 lead over Miami.

The Grizzlies' hot shooting continued in the second quarter, finishing the first half with 73 points on 65.9% shooting from the field and 11 of 16 shooting on threes. It marked the fifth-highest first-half point total in Grizzlies history. For the Heat, it was tied for the ninth-most first-half points it has allowed in franchise history.

The Heat turned to its zone defense for most of the second half, and it worked. The 2-3 look helped slow down Memphis' scorching offense, with the Grizzlies scoring 45 points on 33.3% (15-of-45) shooting over the final two quarters.

But the first-half hole the Heat dug for itself was just too much to overcome.

2. The Heat dropped its first game of the season against a team with a losing record.

With Monday's loss to the Grizzlies, the Heat fell to 10-1 against sub-.500 teams. Considering Miami was 21-15 against losing teams last season, this is still a drastic improvement.

The Heat's loss also snapped its franchise-best five-game winning streak against the Grizzlies. It was also tied for Miami's longest winning streak against a Western Conference opponent.

Next up for Miami is a matchup against a winning team. The Heat faces the 76ers (20-8) on Wednesday to close its three-game trip.

3. The Heat's duo of Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler didn't post triple-doubles Monday, but they still had an impact on the game.

Adebayo (14 points on 4-of-12 shooting) and Butler (25 points on 6-of-12 shooting) combined to score 39 points on 41.7% shooting against the Grizzlies. Miami's two leading men also left their marks on the game in other areas, combining for 17 rebounds, 13 assists, four steals and three blocks.

4. The battle between two of the league's top two rookies lived up to the hype. And Heat first-round pick Tyler Herro was pretty good, too.

Heat guard Kendrick Nunn and Grizzlies guard Ja Morant faced off for the first time since they were named Rookie of the Month for their respective conferences earlier this month.

Nunn finished with 18 points and three assists. Morant finished with 20 points and 10 assists.

With No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson still out after knee surgery, Nunn and Morant are two of the top early candidates for the Rookie of the Year award. Morant entered leading all rookies in scoring (18.7 points per game) and assists (6.4 assists) this season. Nunn entered ranked third in scoring among rookies (16.1) and second in assists (3.6).

One big stat in Nunn's favor: Nunn entered second in plus/minus among rookies at plus-73. Morant entered as a minus-52.

Herro was impressive, too. The 19-year-old finished with 22 points, five rebounds and three assists.

With Herro and Nunn leading the way, the Heat's rookies entered averaging a league-high 32.8 points combined.

5. The turnover issue returned for the Heat in the first half.

After averaging only 10 turnovers over the previous three games, the Heat committed nine turnovers during its ugly first-half performance in Memphis. But Miami cleaned thing up somewhat in the second half to finish the game with 14 turnovers.

Miami entered averaging the second-most turnovers in the league at 17 per game.

Coach Erik Spoelstra has been hesitant in recent days to say the Heat has fixed its turnover problem, instead answering turnover questions by saying the team is trending in the right direction in that area.