Miami Heat Surge Past Charlotte Hornets Behind Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro

The Miami Heat came out full throttle against the Charlotte Hornets Friday before closing the game on cruise control.

After building an early 26-point lead, the Heat held on for a 114-99 victory at FTX Arena. Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 32 points.

“You need a guy like Jimmy,” Heat coach Spoelstra said. “Jimmy’s a closer in this league. He’s played closing basketball for our franchise for a couple of years.”

Heat center Bam Adebayo, who had his Olympic gold-medalists banner unveiled before the game, finished with 26 points and 19 rebounds. Guard Tyler Herro had 26 points off the bench and Duncan Robinson added 10 points.

Spoelstra said he was proud of the way the team was able to close strong after blowing most of the big lead.

“The IQ level of this team is very high,” Spoelstra said. “We have experienced, savvy guys, but guys who can read situations in real time. That matters in this league.”

Still, the Heat want to be able to play solid for four quarters. Adebayo said he felt the team lost some of its sense urgency late in the first half.

“I thought at the end of the half, we lost our intensity," Adebayo said. “And then we picked it up again in the second half."

The Heat return to action Saturday at the Memphis Grizzlies.

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