Heat pull away late to top Spurs 116-104
Jimmy Butler recorded his first triple-double in more than two years, Tyler Herro led the way with 24 points and the Miami Heat pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat the San Antonio Spurs 116-104 on Wednesday night.
Butler — whose most recent triple-double was Jan. 29, 2022 — finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for the Heat, who led by as many as 19 in the fourth. Bam Adebayo added 20 points for Miami.
Tre Jones and Devin Vassell each scored 19 points and Victor Wembanyana finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Spurs. San Antonio started its day with a shootaround practice at a Miami Beach school, surprising the boys and girls varsity teams there by letting them watch the last few minutes.
Wembanyama got his 25th double-double of the season, by far the most among this season's rookie class — Oklahoma City's Chet Holmgren has 13 for No. 2 on the list — and the most by a first-year player since Deandre Ayton had 39 and Trae Young had 30 in the 2018-19 campaign.
It was close the whole way, neither team leading by more than eight points at any time in the first three quarters. Each of the first three quarters wound up being decided by a single point — Miami won the first 32-31 and the second 21-20, San Antonio won the third 26-25.
But in the fourth, the Heat quickly opened some breathing room. Butler found Adebayo with a fast-break lob for a dunk and the night's first double-digit lead at 89-79, part of a 14-4 Miami run to open the final quarter.
It was the first of nine consecutive road games for the Spurs — the annual rodeo trip that awaits San Antonio around this time every year. The 75th annual San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo formally starts Thursday and runs through Feb. 25 at the arena that the Spurs call home.
The team will go nearly four weeks without a home game, though the All-Star break essentially turns a marathon trip into a pair of much more manageable road swings. The game in Miami started a five-game trip that runs through Feb. 14 in Dallas, and after the break, the Spurs resume play at Sacramento on Feb. 22 to begin a four-game road run.
"It's not actually too bad," Jones said. "But the whole month on the road is definitely a little bit of a struggle."
UP NEXT
Spurs: Visit Orlando on Thursday night.
Heat: Host Boston on Sunday afternoon.
