The Heat knocked down 100 percent of their free throws in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, an incredibly misleading statistic if ever there was one.
Miami set a postseason record for fewest attempts from the line, taking and making their only two tries in their series-opening 104-93 loss Thursday night to the Nuggets.
A 20-2 disparity in free-throw attempts is something Heat star Jimmy Butler said has to change with a more assertive mindset beginning in Game 2 on Sunday night in Denver.
“Probably because we shot a lot of jump shots, myself probably leading that pack, instead of putting pressure on the rim, getting layups, getting to the free-throw line,” said Butler, who scored only 13 points, his low for this postseason. “When you look at it during the game, they all look like the right shots.
“I’m not saying that we can’t as a team make those, but we got to get more layups, got to get more free throws. And whenever you miss and don’t get back, the game gets out of hand kind of quickly. We gave up too many layups, which we also can’t have happen. But that’s it as a whole. We’ve got to attack the rim a lot more, myself included.”
Indeed, Game 1 hardly was the formula the eighth-seeded Heat used in previous ousters of the Bucks, Knicks and Celtics.
Miami had averaged 21 free-throw attempts per game through its 12-6 march through the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Reserve forward Haywood Highsmith was their lone player to get to the line Thursday, sinking a pair early in the second quarter.
Conversely, the Nuggets shot 16-for-20 from the stripe, including 10-for-12 by two-time league MVP Nikola Jokic, who had his ninth triple-double effort of the playoffs with 27 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds.
“You have to credit [the Nuggets] with their size and really protecting the paint and bringing a third defender,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Things have to be done with a lot more intention and a lot more pace, a lot more detail.
“We are an aggressive, attacking team, and so if we are not getting those kind of opportunities at the rim or at the free-throw line, we have to find different ways to be able to do it. … One way or the other, we have to find a way to get the job done.”
The passive Heat also finished the game 13-for-39 from 3-point range, with Max Strus misfiring all nine of his attempts from beyond the arc and finishing 0-for-10 overall in a scoreless showing.
Caleb Martin, whose breakout performance helped push the Heat to a seven-game win over the Celtics in Eastern Conference finals, and Duncan Robinson scored just three points apiece in Game 1 on a combined 2-for-13 shooting.
“The looks we got, we’ll live with those. We know we’re better shooters than that,” Strus said.
“I love the looks, and I think we’ll get more looks,” Martin said. “I think this game was kind of a figure-it-out game. We’ll, figure it out. … I think we started to figure it out in the second half, but the looks that we got, the shots that we missed, it’s kind of laughable. We’re much better shooters than we shot [Thursday night].”
The Heat had stolen Game 1 on the road in each of the first three rounds, but they still have a chance to get back to Miami with a split if they can improve in those areas.
“You’ve gotta attack and attack everybody, not just one individual,” Butler said. “I have to do a better job of creating the help … and getting to my shooter, otherwise finishing at the rim, making shots.
“But we missed a lot [Thursday], and we’ll be better in Game 2. At the end of the day, that’s what it is, and we’ll take this and learn from it, and we’ll be back [Sunday].”