Terry Rozier’s takeover vs Cavs highlights his importance to the Heat

As the offense dried up late in the fourth quarter, the Miami Heat were on the verge of losing another game and falling deeper into a play-in spot. But a Terry Rozier takeover saved Miami as they cruised to a 107-104 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers Wednesday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

It’s now been over a month since Terry Rozier was a member of the Heat, and as time goes on, Rozier is starting to look like the 20-point scorer Miami traded for. On March 7, Rozier had his best performance in a Heat jersey against the Dallas Mavericks, scoring 27 points on five threes and 11 assists with no turnovers.

Although Rozier’s Wednesday night outing wasn’t exactly a success, Rozier shined in the clutch – where he has thrived throughout his career.

Before joining the Heat, Rozier had a winning percentage of 53.8 in clutch time (when a game is within five in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime). Rozier also shot 40.1 percent from three in clutch three-pointers for his career and added two more impressive three-pointers to the clutch time collection.

Trailing 100-96 with a minute and a half remaining, Miami badly needed a field goal, its offense hitting a wall and running down the shot clock on almost every possession. Rozier got the ball on a handoff from Jimmy Butler, completed two dribbles and made a contested three on Isaac Okoro. Rozier fouled out and made the free throw to end the game at four points.

After the Cavaliers responded to a mid-range jumper from Butler with a dunk from Jarrett Allen, Rozier got the ball and set up two screens so he could get another faceoff with Okoro. Rozier walked to the right wing, sized up Okoro and nailed a sidestep triple.

Rozier then drove to the line and made two game-clinching free throws to make it a three-point game with three seconds remaining. Daris Garland’s heave at the buzzer missed and the Heat came away with the victory.

“My coaches and my teammates, man. They put all their trust in me from start to finish of the game,” Rozier said. “(They) just make sure to remind me who I am. Big shots at the end. That’s what I like to take.”

If Rozier can have more moments like this, adding another high-level closer in Butler and Adebayo would be huge as the Heat enter their most important period of the year.