For the previous few years, the Miami Heat have experienced problems in the fourth quarter.
In the game on Monday versus the Los Angeles Lakers, nothing changed. The Heat held a 90-79 lead going into the fourth quarter and managed to win by one point.
Leading scorer Bam Adebayo of the Heat with 22 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 assists, stated that the issue must be resolved quickly to prevent further damage.
We’ve had a couple of those games being up big for the first three quarters,” said Adebayo, who recorded his seventh career triple-double. “Then we get in the fourth quarter and they somehow come back. We got this W and move onto the next.”
This season, the Heat experienced problems in the fourth quarter early. They lost to the Brooklyn Nets, defeated by a score of 12. Nine of the next ten games are away, so it doesn’t get any easier.
“I just think we get off to a slow start at the beginning of the fourth quarter,” Adebayo stated. “And while they continue to run, they sort of settle into a groove, and we’re trying to figure it out. The most important thing for us to do in the fourth quarter is to truly focus, have a meaningful dialogue, and cease allowing this to continue.”