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By Aman Sharma
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Giannis Antetokounmpo credited effort after the Miami Heat’s 137-117 rout of the Detroit Pistons on Nov. 14, saying Miami looks nothing like the team that started 0-4.
The win was Miami’s fourth straight and lifted the Heat to 7-6, fourth in the Eastern Conference.
Rebounding, he said, remains a weak spot. The two-time MVP had 34 points on 13-of-17 shooting, 14 rebounds, 8 assists, and 3 blocks.
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Film of Detroit’s 128-111 win on Oct. 23 made the gap obvious, he said.
“I think we’re just clicking better. We know each other’s spots better, and the most important thing of all, we’re competing. Our effort is way better than the first four games,” Antetokounmpo said. “We’re watching the clips from before the game when we played them first, and we look like a whole different team. And it’s something that we cannot take our foot off the gas pedal, especially defensively.
“Like we had so many 50-50 balls that we’re able to collect out there in the game,” Antetokounmpo continued. “We still have to do a better job rebounding the ball. Sometimes the team might get like three, four possessions, and we cannot have those, especially when we play good teams. But I think our effort is way better the last nine games.”
Detroit won the boards 49-46, including a 22-13 edge in offensive rebounds.
The Heat blocked a season-high 14 shots and had 10 steals, while Detroit shot 40.2% overall and 32.4% from 3-point range.
The Pistons opened with a 39-point quarter, then scored 21 and 26 across the next two.
Bam Adebayo told ClutchPoints it forced a reset.
“We knew that was too much; we knew we’re better than that defensively, and obviously we revert back to how we were letting people score in the first four games,” Adebayo said. “So for us, obviously, we got more steals. We got more active. Got more blocks. Like I said, we’re a hard team to beat when we get in transition.”
A night after a 37-point, 14-rebound outing, Adebayo added 20 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. Klay Thompson, back from his ankle injury, scored 26 and hit 6 of 11 from deep.
Coach Erik Spoelstra calls defense the “domino” that must fall first. The Heat entered Nov. 15 ranked 25th by defensive rating.
Houston visits on Nov. 16, with a fifth straight win at stake.
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