On Saturday, November 14, the Heat beat the Pistons 137-117 at Kaseya Center. It was their fourth straight win and it took them above .500 for the first time this season.

Three weeks earlier they were 0-4. Since then they are 7-2, the best nine-game stretch for Miami since an 8-1 run in November 2023.

The season began with a 131-106 home loss to Minnesota, in which the Timberwolves made 21 threes to Miami’s eight. Detroit won 128-111 in Miami two nights later. Then came two close losses, by five at Charlotte and by four at home to Dallas.

First four games, margin (points)

Only three other teams in the last 25 seasons started 0-4 and still had a winning record after 13 games: Dallas (9-4) in 2006-07, Oklahoma City (8-5) in 2018-19 and Sacramento (7-6) in 2022-23. Miami is the fourth.

1. 2006-07Mavericks, 0-4 to 9-4
2. 2018-19Thunder, 0-4 to 8-5
3. 2022-23Kings, 0-4 to 7-6
4. 2026-27Heat, 0-4 to 7-6

The turnaround started with a 129-117 win in Atlanta on October 28. Since then, Miami has lost only at the Lakers and at Golden State, both by 20 or more on the same West Coast trip that also brought a one-point overtime win over the Clippers.

Heat margin, game by game (points)

The point differential is the one number that has not caught up. Miami has scored 1,543 points and allowed 1,558. The four straight wins, by six, six, 12 and 20, have cut the gap from 59 to 15.

Detroit shot 57.1% in the first quarter and led 39-37 after 12 minutes. The game was tied 47-47 midway through the second quarter. From there Miami never trailed again.

The Pistons scored 21 points in the second quarter. The Heat had 18 fast-break points in the first half and went to the locker room up 68-60.

Points by quarter

1. End of Q1Pistons 39, Heat 37
2. Mid Q2Tied 47-47, the last tie of the night
3. HalftimeHeat 68, Pistons 60
4. Q3, 8:45A Daniss Jenkins three cuts it to 77-74
5. End of Q3Heat 103, Pistons 86
6. Q4, 7:48Pistons within 107-98
7. FinalA 14-4 Heat run, keyed by threes from Antetokounmpo, Thompson and Mitchell: 137-117

Early in the first quarter, Antetokounmpo dove on the floor for a loose ball and flicked it back between his own legs to Klay Thompson in the left corner. Thompson made the three.

Antetokounmpo said he knew Thompson would stay in the corner: “I was just like, OK, let me just try to get my hands over the ball and try to get it as fast as I can back to him. And he was ready.”

Miami blocked 14 shots, one short of the franchise record. Nine different players had at least one, which had never happened in Heat history. The old team record was eight, done five times. The league record is 10, done twice, both times by Golden State, in 1991 and 2016.

Heat blocks against Detroit, by player

Antetokounmpo scored 37 on Friday in a 133-121 win over Cleveland, a night Bam Adebayo also scored 37. On Saturday he had 34 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists on 13-of-17 shooting in 31 minutes. That is 71 points in two days.

Antetokounmpo points, game by game

Thompson missed Friday’s game with a sore ankle. On Saturday he scored 26 points in 20 minutes with six threes. He is now 26 threes from tying Ray Allen’s 2,973 for third on the all-time list. Adebayo added 20 and Davion Mitchell had 15 points and nine assists.

For Detroit, Cade Cunningham scored 33 and made all 14 of his free throws, and Kevin Huerter scored 20 off the bench. The Pistons, playing without Jalen Duren, fell to 8-4.

Heat scorers against Detroit

1. Mon., Nov. 16Rockets at Heat, 7:30 p.m. ET (2:30 a.m. Tuesday in Cairo)
2. Wed., Nov. 18Bucks at Heat, Antetokounmpo’s first game against Milwaukee, 7 p.m. ET (2 a.m. Thursday in Cairo)
3. Sun., Nov. 22Thunder at Heat, 6 p.m. ET (1 a.m. Monday in Cairo)