Heat grateful to have Tyler Herro back as they host Grizzlies

MIAMI — The Miami Heat welcomed back guard Tyler Herro just in time to face a Memphis Grizzlies team desperate to build on its first taste of success in more than two weeks.

Herro, sidelined for 15 games with three fractured ribs, returned Friday night and immediately reminded the Heat what they had been missing, pouring in a game-high 24 points in only 23 minutes off the bench during a 128-97 road rout of the Atlanta Hawks. Wearing a protective flak jacket that he joked made him “look like a football player,” Herro shot 9-of-14 from the floor and 2-of-4 from deep, providing the offensive jolt Miami hopes to carry into Saturday’s matchup with Memphis.

“There’s nothing I can magically do to fix my ribs,” Herro said earlier in the week, reflecting on the pain that had limited even routine daily activities. “Ultimately, I just want to feel safe.” After the Hawks win, he reported simply, “I felt good,” music to the ears of coach Erik Spoelstra.

“We know how competitive he is and we know how much he wants to be out there,” Spoelstra said. “We’ve never forgotten about the talent that he brings. He changes our dynamic quite a bit. When we have everyone available, we look different.”

Herro’s return augments a balanced attack that featured 69 combined points from him, Norman Powell, Bam Adebayo and Andrew Wiggins against Atlanta. At 16-11 inside Kaseya Center, the Heat will look to keep that momentum against a Grizzlies outfit clinging to positivity.

Memphis snapped a four-game slide with Friday’s 123-114 home victory over the Utah Jazz, only its third win in the past 13 contests. With leading scorers Ty Jerome (right calf) and Ja Morant (left elbow) unavailable, third-year forwards Olivier-Maxence Prosper and GG Jackson seized the moment, combining for 43 points on 17-of-29 shooting—27 of those coming in the second half as the Grizzlies erased a 12-point deficit. All nine available Memphis players scored at least nine points.

“It just shows our depth,” Jackson said. “We’ve got a lot of guys that can go out there and score the ball. Not only score, we can play defense, get rebounds, if we need to dish it out. Whatever you need, we’ve got it.”

Coach Tuomas Iisalo praised his short-handed roster’s resilience during a stretch that has featured only one home game in three weeks.

“Our team’s togetherness and the vibes have been great overall,” he said.

Now the Grizzlies must carry that spirit into Miami, where a re-energized Heat squad and a sold-out crowd await the chance to keep their roll alive.