Tyler Herro nearly ended the night early. But Bojan Bogdanovic did what he needed to do to ensure the Detroit Pistons left Miami on Tuesday with a victory.
Bogdanovic scored 28 points in the second half to lead the Pistons to come-from-behind victory, 116-96, over the Heat at FTX Arena. He scored 14 in the fourth period, knocking down three of his seven 3-pointers in the final seven minutes of the quarter to clinch the win. Bogdanovic made 12 of 16 shots from the field, including 7-for-9 from 3, and also had five assists.
Alec Burks (18 points, 9 rebounds), Saddiq Bey (14 points), Isaiah Stewart (11 points, 11 rebounds), Cory Joseph (11 points, five assists) and Jaden Ivey (10 points) all scored in double figures to help the Pistons overcome an 11-point deficit with six minutes to play in the first quarter. A Killian Hayes 3-pointer with roughly four minutes remaining in the third quarter gave Detroit the lead for good, and the Pistons outscored Miami by 15 points in the final period.
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Herro (34 points, six assists) made his first eight shots and had 21 points at halftime. He didn’t miss his first field goal until the 7:40 mark of the third period. The Heat were without superstar Jimmy Butler (right knee injury management).
Burks bounces back
It didn’t look like Burks had missed much time when he made his season debut on Nov. 11 following a lengthy rehab from left navicular fracture surgery. Through his first nine games, the veteran wing averaged 16.7 points on 44.8% overall shooting and 42.9% shooting from 3.
Both Burks and Dwane Casey acknowledged several times that he was still getting his legs under him after a seven-month absence. He finally came back down to Earth over Detroit’s last three games, during which he scored just 17 points total and missed 14 of his 21 shot attempts.
Against the Heat, Burks got back to his usual self. He scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half, and hit two difficult jumpers — a turnaround midrange shot and a stepback 3-pointer — to help Detroit’s 38-23 run in the final period that sealed the victory.
Bogey continues his efficient season
Entering Tuesday, only two players in the NBA averaged at least 20 points per game on 50% overall shooting and 40% shooting from 3 — Utah Jazz breakout star Lauri Markkanen, and Bogdanovic. Detroit’s offense has had ups and downs this season, but Bogdanovic has been consistently great.
Tuesday ended up being another chapter in what’s been a strong season for the veteran forward. He’s having one of the best offensive seasons in recent franchise memory, and is showing why the organization had no qualms extending him through two more seasons earlier this season.
Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @omarisankofa.