Duncan Robinson didn’t leave New Orleans with a victory, but the second-year Miami Heat swingman did with three new places atop record books.
On the way to his eight 3-pointers in the loss to the Pelicans, Robinson:
— Moved past Wayne Ellington in the Heat record book for most 3-pointers in a season (333), with 19 games remaining. Ellington’s record was 227 in 2017-18.
— Moved past Damon Jones for most 3-pointers in a season by an undrafted player, with the previous NBA record the 225 by Jones with the Heat in 2004-05.
— Moved past Kyle Korver for the most 3-pointers by a second-year player, with the previous record of 226 set in 2004-05, when Korver was with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Next up, with a 3-pointer in Sunday night’s game against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena, would be a tie with Rafer Alston for most consecutive games by a Heat player with a conversion, with Alston completing that 49-game run in 2010.
“I’m certainly humbled to be in the position I’m in,” Robinson said. “I’m appreciative of everything coming my way and I just want to keep it going.”
Perhaps a bit too humble, with Heat coach Erik Spoelstra picking it up from there.
“He’s gotten better each month,” Spoelstra of the 6-foot-7 wing who went undrafted out of Michigan in 2018 and spent much of last season in the G League. “He’s becoming a very good NBA basketball player. It’s not just about him hitting threes.
“He’s getting much better on the defensive end. And he’s really becoming so nuanced off the ball.”
That’s when Spoelstra placed Robinson in some rarefied 3-point air.
“You talk about all the great catch-and-shoot players in this league, the Klay Thompsons, Kyle Korvers, Bradley Beals — the movement off the ball. Duncan’s becoming every bit of that, that kind of threat,” he said. “And he’s really helped expand our offense.”
Road woes
Friday’s loss to the Pelicans dropped the Heat to 13-19 on the road, with losses in seven of their last eight away from AmericanAirlines Arena.
“Our guys in the locker room have such a pure heart about this,” Spoelstra said. “This is something that we will get corrected. It’s disappointing, frustrating to all of us in the locker room.
“It’s not from a lack of preparation or want. We have to do something to get that to change, when we’re not at AmericanAirlines Arena.”
Robinson said the Heat’s home success should be translating to the road.
“We know we’re a good team,” he said. “We know we can beat good teams. We know we’re capable of putting 48 good minutes together on the road. It just hasn’t come together.”
Center Bam Adebayo again found himself at a loss for an explanation.
“We just got to figure out this road mentality,” he said. “I don’t have an answer for it. Like, when we get on the road, we just expect anything to happen.”
Hill’s turn
With forward Jae Crowder forced out of Friday’s game after a blow to the jaw from Pelicans rookie forward Zion Williamson, Spoelstra turned to Solomon Hill for only the second time in seven games.
Hill played 14:48 off the bench, his longest stint since joining the Heat along with Crowder and Andre Iguodala from the Memphis Grizzlies at the Feb. 6 NBA trading deadline.
“He’s really been putting in a ton of time,” Spoelstra said. “You can see how his body’s already changed. I’ve had him on my card for really five games, to try to get him in there in the first half and just wasn’t able to do that.
“As things always tend to work out in this league, you’ll get your opportunity at some point. And the most important thing is he was ready for it, and he played well. You can see what he can help us with, in many of the areas that Jae does, Andre. They can defend multiple positions. He’s tough and provides that spacing.”