The slippage had been subtle, but quietly serious.
It was enough of a concern to leave Heat coach Erik Spoelstra on edge. Close calls. Defensive lapses. Slow starts. All the signs were there, despite the Heat pushing its winning streak to nine games.
Those warning signs eventually caught up to the Heat in Friday's 106-99 loss to the Pistons at AmericanAirlines Arena. Miami saw its nine-game winning streak come to a crashing halt.
Longtime nemesis Ben Gordon buried the Heat, going off for 39 points, including 26 in the second half. Gordon, who used to do his damage as a member of the Bulls, made 7 of 11 treys and had an answer every time the Heat even thought about trying to rally.
The Heat had been rolling, and this might prove to simply be a bump in the road to get the team refocused heading into the playoffs. At least that's the way it sounded in the locker room afterward.
"It's going to hurt us and we're going to regret this one," forward Michael Beasley said. "We're just going to have to move on."
Said Dwyane Wade: "We won nine in a row. We lost one. We'll bounce back."
D. WADE'S DOINGS: There were some sloppy plays from the outset. But for every failed wrap-around-two-defenders pass Wade tried to execute, there was a sweet drive to the basket that was capped by a foul and conversion. Wade got off to a solid start, making three of his first four shots and hitting his first six free throws for 13 points in the first half. But there was something that kept Wade from being aggressive on the offensive end. It wasn't necessarily Detroit's defense. Perhaps it was just an off night. Wade was just 5 of 8 from the field for 19 points and nine assists. This time his five turnovers were costly, considering the Heat coughed it up 16 times.
TURNING POINT: When Udonis Haslem's jumper put the Heat ahead 86-85, Ben Gordon hit the overdrive button. He fired off consecutive three-pointers at one point and scored 12 in the fourth quarter. He keyed a 12-4 run that allowed the Pistons to pull ahead 97-90.
WINNING/LOSING EDGE: Miami had done a solid job at holding teams under 50 percent from the field, under 100 points on the scoreboard and below 35 percent from three-point range. Detroit simply blew those trends out of the water. The Pistons scored 106 after Miami had held 15 of its last 16 under 100. Detroit shot 50 percent from the field and 44 from three-point range against one of the league's stingiest defenses.
HEAD-SCRATCHER: Heat president Pat Riley spent the entire third quarter of Friday's game as a guest broadcaster on the Sun Sports TV broadcast. He repeated a lot of what he's been saying lately. He believes Wade will re-sign and that owner Micky Arison is committed to surrounding Wade this summer with talent that will have the Heat competing for titles for a long time. He also said Michael Beasley walks around with a backpack and needs to take some things "out of the backpack" to lighten his load. "He's putting too much pressure on himself," Riley said. Another statement of note was that the Heat doesn't plan to let Udonis Haslem get away in free agency. That might be difficult to do with the way Haslem is playing lately. I can't imagine Haslem wanting to leave. But with his value at an all-time high at this point in his career, I can't see him offering too deep of a discount on what could be his last major contract. Riley's holding all the cards, and even has a few more up his sleeve. The good thing is that this team has played well enough for some guys to be invited back if plans A, B, C and maybe D, don't work out in free agency.
KEY CONTRIBUTION: Haslem is simply clutch these days. He doesn't miss in the fourth quarter. And he's rebounding like a man possessed. He finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds to notch his fifth double-double in seven games. He also grabbed at least 10 rebounds for the fifth consecutive game, which ties his career high. Haslem was 8 of 10 from the field. He's been as consistent as any Heat player over the past six weeks since the team got rolling.
NEXT UP: Heat at New York Knicks, 6 p.m. Sunday - Madison Square Garden
(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.)
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