Here are the scores, updates, and results of the NBA 2022-2023 Regular Season between the Miami Heat (MIA) and the Oklahoma City Thunder (OKC) on January 11, 2023 (All times are in Philippine Standard Time) at the FTX Arena.
The Miami Heat holds off the Oklahoma City Thunder in their homecourt in crucial moments to take the victory with a final score of 112-111.
The Heat had an outstanding rally in the last seconds of the fourth where they find themselves trailing by five points with less than a minute remaining. Miami never gave up in front of their home crowd and still pulled off the win despite the difficult circumstances.
Butler, when the opposing squad was leading at 109-111, drove to the rim in transition and converted an and-one bucket to tie the matchup. He then calmly gave his team a promising one-point lead, a winning difference where the Thunder never came back from.
In addition, Miami also set a historic NBA record where they made all of their 40 free throw attempts.
“It’s just a normal Tuesday night for the Miami Heat,” coach Erik Spoelstra shared. “I think this is when we feel most alive, when everything just happens and when all of our competitive juices get out there. That’s the team we all can relate to. That’s the team I like.”
Their last performance where they never missed a charity stripe shot was back in 1982 against the Jazz where they went for 39-39 on the line.
“Credit them, first of all, for that,” coach Mark Daigneault shared. “That’s impressive.”
Butler joined an elite club in terms of hitting free throws in a matchup as he made 23 of them. Back in 2019, Harden made 24 shots without a miss while Nowtizki also made 24 shots without missing back in 2011. Not only that, but Butler also tied Dominique Wilkins with 23 buckets made in the free throw line without an error.
Overall, “Jimmy Buckets” had 35 points, seven boards, and four assists against the Thunder. On the other end, he also had four steals and three rejections. Max Strus added 22 points while Oladipo, who came as a second unit for Miami, had 19 points and two pickpockets.
“We won,” Butler said. “Complete team effort. I’m proud of my guys.”
Miami was playing without their key players, namely, Bam Adebayo, and Tyler Herro, who are currently aiding a wrist injury and a sore left achilles tendon, respectively. Caleb Martin and Kyle Lowry were absent against Oklahoma due to injuries also.
For the Thunder, their two-game winning momentum has now come to an end. They are now 3-2 in their past five contests, including a 150-point output against Boston back in Jan. 4.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma with 26 points on 50% shooting while Josh Giddey had an outstanding triple-double showcase, tallying 18 points, 15 boards, and ten dishes.
The Heat now improves to 22-20 while the Thunder falls down to 18-23.
Heat vs Thunder
26-31; 30-32; 32-26; 23-23
The scores:
Heat (112) Butler 35, Strus 22, Oladipo 19, Vincent 13, Cain 12
Thunder (111) – Gilgeous-Alexander 26, Giddey 18, K. Williams 13, Jay. Williams 12, Dort 11