Detroit gave the ball away more often than Miami and still won by 17. That's the box-score puzzle I want to hear people unpack: which Detroit possessions did the damage, and what could Miami actually take away? The result alone makes the game look cleaner for Detroit than it was.
Our provisional result has Detroit winning 128–111 after a 41–26 opening quarter. The final team stats show Detroit with 20 turnovers to Miami's 12, yet Detroit made 47 of 89 field-goal attempts to Miami's 39 of 102 and recorded 34 assists to Miami's 24. The shooting gap and extra passes point to better outcomes on many of Detroit's retained possessions, but a box score cannot tell us which defensive choices opened those looks.
