Game Breakdown: Suns 104, Heat 96

The Heat held the Suns below their league-leading scoring average. Miami just couldn't get a handle on Steve Nash and Co.in the fourth quarter.

Nash scored 25 of his game-high 30 points in the second half and led the Suns from a 12-point second-half deficit to a 104-96 victory Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena. So much for that quest to go 82-0. The Heat's season-opening three-game winning streak was snapped one victory shy of matching the franchise's best-ever 4-0 start during the 2004-05 season.

Miami had this one won. For three quarters, the Heat had an answer for every run the Suns made. Miami led by double figures - or close to it - for most of the second quarter and a large chunk of the third. It was ahead by 12 points with 20 minutes left to play.

And then Nash got hot, the Suns got their fun-and-gun, pick-and-roll show going and the Heat's offense essentially slipped into reverse. Shots just simply stopped falling. Miami missed 18 of its final 23 from the field. Dywane Wade was helpless. He couldn't hit a shot and couldn't get a call from the refs. And that's a bad combination when no one else really had it going aside from the occasional three from Q-Rich.

D. WADE'S DOINGS: For the third time in four games, Wade basked in the role of playmaker. Or so it seemed. He didn't have much in the tank when the team needed him to take over. Wade led the Heat with 23 points on 7 of 18 shooting. Take away the outcome, and his stat line is pretty nice. He also finished with seven assists, nine rebounds and two steals. But the four turnovers, the 0 of 3 clip from three-point range and the three fouls in the fourth knocked him off his rhythm.

TURNING POINT: The Suns used a 15-4 run in the fourth quarter to erase the Heat's lead and pull ahead by as many as nine points. Nash carved through the Heat's defense and delivered either unbelievable passes or extremely clutch shots. "He willed his team to victory," Wade said of Nash. The Heat didn't have any answers. Miami also got the short end of a few bad calls down the stretch. That's not supposed to happen at home, is it? The Heat couldn't blame this one on the replacement refs. Still, settling for jumpers isn't exactly the way to finish a game.

LOSING EDGE: Credit the Suns defense for holding the Heat to only 15 points in the fourth quarter. Miami shot only 21.7 percent in the fourth. Included in that meltdown was a 1 of 10 performance from three-point range. The Suns stifled the Heat with a zone defense, and there were too few adjustments made. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra took the blame for the way it went down at the end. Phoenix also set a Heat record for blocked shots in a quarter with six in the fourth. The Suns blocked 11 for the game.

HEAD SCRATCHER: Although Spoelstra accepted the blame for the finish, he also had a hand in the rotation down the stretch, too. Foul trouble was a factor for Michael Beasley. But Wade didn't get three of his four fouls until the fourth quarter. So it was beyond questionable to leave a lineup in the game that consisted of reserves Carlos Arroyo, Dorell Wright, James Jones, Joel Anthony and Udonis Haslem for that critical stretch when the Heat saw its lead slip away. When that group came back onto the court after a timeout, you had to wonder if the team's primary closers should have been in instead. 

KEY CONTRIBUTION: Quentin Richardson's early offense, particularly his touch from 3-point range, helped the Heat jump out to a double-digit lead in the second quarter. Richardson had been used in the role of perimeter defensive stopper. But he looked for his shot early and often against Phoenix. His 17 attempts were one fewer than Wade. He did contribute and wasn't afraid to take the big shots.

NEXT UP:Heat at Wizards, Wednesday, 7 p.m. Verizon Center

(For live news, notes and updates on the Heat, follow me on Twitter @ twitter.com/wallacesports. To post a question or join our live Heat chat each Thursday from 1-2 p.m., click here.)

Comments

[UD's biggest fan]

Great game against the Suns. Haslem got his minutes. That's all that matters.

[Spokes]

this just shows the western conference is much more dominant than the east. The Suns are an 8 seed in the west, the Heat will be a top 3 seed in the east. Yet the Suns are so much better. If Heat played in the west they woudl not win 30 games.

[rockstarjc]

so what do got now??? hope this would not be the start of losing games... as i see we are lack of consistency... collapsing on defense!!! how about if we face teams like cavaliers,boston,magic,lakers spurs, nuggets can we win a game to them??? im a heat fan!!! all we need now is to trade... we would not wait for 2010 free agency bonanza... when we'll start making moves if we are 10-20 game standing? how many loss do have to get? before we start making a move? we need a consistent point guard, locked-out defender & can run a play-a playmaker small forward...

check this out:

we start a trade from... QUINN,DIAWARA,JAMES JONES,MAGLOIRE + 1st round pick (last) 2010...

to (memphis) *RUDY GAY & *MARC GASOL

CHALMERS, & Q-RICH...

to: (warriors) *ELLIS

line-up would:

sg WADE / COOK
pg *ELLIS / ARROYO
c O'NEAL,J.(pf) / *GASOL,M. / ANTHONY,J.
sf *GAY / D.WRIGHT
pf BEASLEY(sf) / HASLEM / RANDOLPH,S.

WE'RE COMPETITIVE NOW!!!

if we dont make moves, we are going worst just like 2007 season & we gonna lost MR.WADE!!!

i would appreciate your thougths...

i just wanted this team to win & be on the playoff again...

[liam]

tough loss, spo has screwed up the handling of beasley and haslem since game 2, it was bound to bite him in the a$$ at some point

Chalmers: to score 5 points against nash's defense is pathetic

[305 Representer]

I don't understand if your not going to play Beasley the majority of the 4th why take him out because he picks up a 4th foul? To me the coach out coach himself a lot! You see the Suns making a run since the 3rd qtr why have Wade sit out so long in the 4th. Also, to me Wade doesn't seem hurt at all he just look like he's coasting maybe we should lose some games to put some fire under his ass. Games like the Suns should be shoo INS for us bcuz their undersize and don't rebound well. We should be saving our loses when we go against big size teams. Also a lot of y'all must think every other Nba team are stupid with y'all ridculous trade ideas.

[305 Representer]

I will say this though J Bayless is bury on the Blazer bench and we ha e a trade exception. Iverson is grumbling in Memphis and we don't have to sign him out right anymore hmmm. The reason I'm putting that out there is because Chalmer is not offensively aggresive enough and he needs a spark in a offensive minded sub. We have a trade exception and we need to use it!!!

[Cprez]

Spoelstra blew this one...PERIOD.. When I saw that run begining in the foruth for the suns I knew we were DONE!!!! Tighten up coach..Get the confused look off your face and when you call a timeout please make an actual substitution...

[black the trucker]

b

[dmt]

Understatement of the year: Chalmers is no Steve Nash.

[Heater4life]

Spo screwed up big time!!! When he sat Beasley in the 3rd quarter with 8:13 left he only had 3 fouls!!! Shortly after that after we had a 12 point lead the Suns made their run and he didn't make any substitution to counter the Suns line up on the court. He waited to long to bring in JO and DWADE into the ball game. He didn't make any adjustments on the fly against their zone defense!!! I don't know but the more I see the decisions he makes, the more I want to say that we need a better more experienced coach to lead this franchise. Oh and BTW Chalmers is not a starting caliber PG in this league, He doesn't penetrate, He doesn't set his teammates up well, He plays OK defense but thats about it. We need to make a trade for Bayless, now that guy is a true point guard.

[NoRush]

Spo blew this game and he should admit his stupidity. The last game he left Wade in with four fouls but he pulls Beasley out with 12 points and 4 fouls. Chalmers had 6 points for 32 minutes playing time but not Arroyo who had 5 points for 10 miinutes of playing time.
Riley should can him for blowing a great game.
Roth--- the assistant coach should be number one.

[Mac]

What is wrong with the coach. I have watched his rotation for each of the four games, and he always leaves the starter on the bench to long, and in each case it leads to the other team coming back. In the past three games, when the starters returned they were able to hold off the comeback, but this time, he waited until the score was almost tied to bring the starters back. Spo needs counseling.

[Mac]

I agree that Chalmers needs to penetrate more. Thats why I think arroyo needs to start and Chalmers should come off the bench.

[S]

"A lot of players will say that and it's an empty statement," Spoelstra said. "They'll say, 'I'll do whatever it takes to win.' You say, 'OK, what are your conditions?' And you find out pretty quickly what somebody's conditions are."

With Haslem, Spoelstra said there were no strings attached.

"It really shows the kind of character that Udonis is, that he backs up what he's saying, that he is about the team," he said. "There is a purity about him."
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Haslem is out of Miami's starting lineup for the first time in six years, paving the way for Michael Beasley to open at power forward. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra announced the starters Wednesday: NBA scoring champion Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers at guard, Jermaine O'Neal at center, Quentin Richardson at small forward and Beasley.

Spoelstra called it a "difficult and uncomfortable" decision.
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"You need someone who's of absolute strength, of character," he said. "I still view Udonis as a starter. This just allows us to get into a rotation.
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Spoelstra said informing Haslem, who had been a starter for all but two games over the past five seasons, was difficult.

"That was the ultimate warrior making the ultimate sacrifice," he said.

Spoelstra, who said he has a picture of Haslem in his office to remind him of the qualities he wants in his players, said he told Haslem, "My view of you and the intangibles that are necessary to win in this league have not changed. And now I'm asking you to take one more step."
-----------------
LOL! I can't wait to read this romance novel.

[S]

Can you now understand why picking Beasley was a mistake for the Heat?

Spo on Haslem,

1. There is a purity about him.
2. Not starting him was a difficult and uncomfortable decision.
3. He is of absolute strength of character.
4. He still views him as a starter.
5. Haslem is the ultimate warrior making the ultimate sacrifice in allowing himself to be benched.
6. Spo keeps a picture of Haslem in his office to remind him of the qualities he wants in his players.

Why did we draft somebody that plays this guy's position again?? And with the number 2 pick???

[Greg Gembe]

Spoelstra, who said he has a picture of Haslem in his office to remind him of the qualities he wants in his players, said he told Haslem, "My view of you and the intangibles that are necessary to win in this league have not changed. And now I'm asking you to take one more step."
-----------------
LOL! I can't wait to read this romance novel.

You don't have to wait. Stay on this post. Instead of Spolestra, insert any poster's name, and in place of Haslem, put supercoolbeas (or if that isn't humble enough, try 'god's son'). Haslem has proved himself in this league, he's a Champion. As the Heat coach, it's probably obvious who is focused on team wins and who has motives centered around self.
Anybody asking Danny Granger about Haslem's ups? Certainly the ESPNers on this blog saw that facial. Anybody comparing shooting percentages of our PF's? How about double/doubles? Oh, that's right, Spo made beas take and miss those shots, and not get out and defend on the perimeter. D*mn coach! How did he hoodwink Riley in the job interview?

[jpejeff]

The good news is We seem to have fixed our slow starts by putting Bees in the starting lineup.The bad news is Spro has shifted the slow start in the 1st quarter to the 4th quarter.Guess you cant teach a young dog new tricks.I understood why he played Haslem over Beasley in the Bulls game(9/13 shooting),but to do it in the Suns game was down right stupid.This cant be a confidence booster for this young man to see all the starters on the floor but himself at the end of games.Bees leads Haslem in every major statistic on offense and defense but RB and minutes played.So why is he not getting the minutes he need to grow into the player we all know he will become.I got a trade 4 y-owl. Trade Spro,his f...up rotations and his thought process for any middle school coach and a crap table to compensate for some of the crap we will be losing.

[S]

Gembe I am glad you adore Haslem. You haven't answered my question.

Why did we draft Beasley with the number 2 pick when we already had Haslem and all of his gushing goodness??

[black the trucker]

well, all i have to say is the heat got robbed.. i know they can't say it, but i can!.. now with that being said, they are not that good and we should have won.. moving forward, tonights game is going to be a eastern conference battle where the wiz think there back as one of those teams, and they might be.. but unlike that game, we must stay with our defense, and can not get caught up running and gunning.. i mean fast breaks are good when you can get stops and go quick for run outs, but like last night they can cause a team that wants to run all game an advantage.. but i would like to add that the suns were playing a zone that is illegal and should have been called but the ref's road the same plane in so you got think they were down together or something.. wade; the ref's are not giving you the same calls, for what ever reason, so be careful not to over play or over try to play and get hurt.. but you are the leader of this team and you have to lead by example.. so do what you do, just don't allow the bad calls to get to you... o'neil; good game, although in a lost, keep balling.. charlmers, even though you did't score alot of points you still can be an impact player, and thats the way i see you being more important to this team, just look at jkidd, rondo etc,.. beasley, keep up the good work.. haslem, solid, keep it up.. wright, now you are a lot better than most three's in the league, but for what evr reason you don't show it, get more aggressive on defense and play more active on offense, you should be able stat; 12ppg 7rpg 4apg 1stlpg 1blkpg ez... and thats off the bench... big game tonight..

[Joel Delgado]

WOW! what the hell just happened? How did we lose that game?This is a tough one to swallow, a game we should have won lost now that that sucks. I been a chalmers fan but my patience wit him is wearing thin. He needs to step it up or go to the bench, I mean he let an old ass Steve Nash take advantage of him thats just unexceptible. Well hopefully that game was a little hiccup and we get back on track against the Wizards tonight.GO HEAT!!!!!!!!

[jpejeff]

How bout giving Spro some advice.He really needs it.

[Greg Gembe]

Why did we draft Beasley with the number 2 pick when we already had Haslem and all of his gushing goodness??

Can't get into the basketball mind of Riles, or I would. My guess is that they thought he could develop into a SF. I bet they would have taken Rose with the first pick, if they got it. Still got Kevin Love and OJ Mayo on the table, and they opted for Beas. There are so many scenarios in an NBA draft, that it's hard to tell why Beas was taken. Possibly another team wanted him and we wanted a player they had, and something fell through. Maybe another team was wanting Haslem and then backed off.

There is always the challenging theories of drafting the best player available or drafting specifically for a position you want to fill. Either way, depth at ANY position should not be viewed as a problem. Every player is only one turned ankle, twisted knee away from sitting for the season (or longer).

There's room for UD and Beas on this team. I'm just not trying to downplay Haslem's role/abilities or Beas' shortcomings.

Wizards tonight on ESPN. Let's do the damn thing! 4-1

[S]

There is no room for UD and Beas on this team. That is a fact. Beasley on another team will be dropping 30 points on Haslem on a constant basis.

I'm not trying to downplay Haslem either, but I think he is grossly overvalued by us.

At least we both agree that Beasley should be traded so Shavlik Randolph can back up Haslem and we can get another gritty player to help off the bench.

[black the trucker]

well, good point, but after the fact, you have to say these young players in that draft would have benn better; mayo,westbrook, lopez, love, but you gotta think we're better off than the knicks, they they gotta feel like shit.

[S]

These young players won't have been better if they got the Beasley treatment.

The only difference between them and Beasley in terms of how they've been handled is that Beasley plays Haslem's position.

We shouldn't have drafted him for his own good.

[S]

Q: How will Michael Beasley ever succeed in Miami with comments like this from Wade: "I'm sure there are going to be times I'm out there and will say, 'Get Udonis in and sit Michael down.' " -- Lance.

A: Because Michael then will watch what makes Udonis a finisher and hopefully emulate that down the road. The first step was getting Michael into the starting lineup at his natural position, which turned out to be a success in Wednesday's victory over the Knicks. The next step is for Michael to make the Heat have to keep him in the lineup at the end of games, again, with Wednesday a good first step. Dwyane did little more than speak the truth.

http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports_basketball_heat/2009/10/ask-ira-is-wade-in-beasleys-corner.html

[pmartin]

Wade is not supporting Beasley;
And, No Miami should not have drafted Beasley.
His growth is being stunted on the court and I am only guessing will lead to more problems away from the court.
He is the starting PF. and should be getting 40 minutes a game and finishing in the fourth quarter.
If Miami likes Udonis Role Player Haslem so much Riles should never have drafted Beasley;
They could have drafted Wade's buddy Mayo; Who Wade wanted on draft day.
If beasley had been drafted by another team last year, He would have been rookie of the year. He has true offensive gifts if given 40 solid minutes a game and told to shoot like he did in K state.
On this team he is token starter and Wade hogs the ball.
Trade either U.D or Beasley and put end to this nonsense.

[jpejeff]

What wade should have said was there will be times when i say get Joel in there and JO out or get Carlos in there and Chalmers out.Oh my bad he wont do that because they actually get treated like starters. Makebe if he's having a bad game,they can say we need to get Cook in there. Even i must say it was wrong 4 him 2 say that.

[Greg Gembe]

Maybe Beasley with 'all his offensive' talents, just doesn't work hard enough to earn major minutes, or major 'chuck-up-the-ball' rights.

Maybe he is a young hoodlum with an 'entitlement' attitude, who finds trouble wherever he goes.

Maybe Spo isn't the only coach in the NBA that expects you to bust yo butt, REGARDLESS of your draft status (which for Beas, is now 1 1/2 years ago).

Maybe, Haslem owns his #ss in practice.

[S]

Yeah and maybe the opposite of everything you've said.

It's all just maybe's and not actual facts.

What can anyone say about maybes?

[jpejeff]

May-Bees start please

[jpejeff]

May-Bees finish what he starts

[jpejeff]

Ok ok May-bees sting Spro in the back of the head and change his thought process

[S]

Moving on to today's game and Friday's against Denver.

I'm predicting we'll be 3-3 by eod Friday unless something changes.

[black the trucker]

wow, looks like someone touched a nerve, what ya say? anyway... good game tonight...

[lequeenLames]

i am happy we lost.That way wade can keep telling spoelstra to sit beasley and bring in haslem or wright.I would love to be in wade's head last night after the lost LMAO