Warriors Defeat the Heat
The Golden State Warriors earned their seventh-consecutive win, defeating the Miami Heat 111-103 on Monday night.
Stephen Curry led all scorers with 31 points. Draymond Green filled the stat sheet with 22 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, while Klay Thompson added 17 points and seven rebounds of his own. With the victory, the Warriors improve to 36-2 on the season.
It was closer than their games have been recently, but the Warriors will take wins any way they can get them. The game started off with a tightly contested first quarter, and remained close throughout the contest. After Chris Bosh made the game’s opening basket, the Warriors took a lead with a 7-0 run, but that was immediately followed and erased by a Miami 9-0 burst. The Heat would lead by as many as seven points in the first frame, but Golden State never let Miami gain any extended momentum. After Bosh gave the Heat a 25-21 lead with 3:01 remaining, the Dubs closed out the quarter on a 6-0 run to take a 27-25 lead into the second frame.
Throughout the game, it would appear as if the Warriors were about to run away with it, only to have Miami crawl their way back within shouting distance. An Andrew Bogut hook shot put the Warriors up 40-32 with 6:55 left in the first half, but the Heat responded with an 11-2 run to retake a 43-42 advantage. Golden State would make only one field goal over the next three minutes, keeping pace with Miami by way of free throws. After the Heat had taken a 54-49 lead with 1:36 remaining in the quarter, Stephen Curry made a three-pointer to kick-start a Warriors’ 7-0 run to close the half, as the Dubs escaped to halftime clinging to a 56-54 lead.
Golden State would outscore Miami 13-5 through the first six minutes of the third quarter to take a 69-59 lead, their largest of the game up to that point. But, once again, the Heat would not go away quietly. After Klay Thompson’s three-pointer put the Warriors up 76-67 with 2:18 left to play, the Heat closed the quarter on a 10-4 run to close within 80-77 heading into the fourth and final frame.
Luke Walton turned to his bench at the start of the fourth quarter, and they delivered when given the opportunity. Marreese Speights scored the opening three baskets of the quarter, which were followed soon after by one field goal each from Harrison Barnes, Andre Iguodala and Ian Clark, giving the Warriors a 92-81 lead with 7:57 left in regulation. Two minutes later, Luol Deng’s three-pointer cut the deficit to 95-88, but three free throws from Klay Thompson and a three-pointer from Curry pushed Golden State’s lead back to 101-88 with less than five minutes remaining in the game. Again, Miami would claw their way back into the game, but ultimately, the deficit proved too large to overcome. Two Dwyane Wade free throws would pull the Heat within six points with 45.5 seconds remaining, but one final Curry three-pointer on the ensuing possession put the game out of reach, as the Warriors closed out the 111-103 victory. With the win, the Warriors improve to 36-2 on the season. They’ll go for their eighth-straight win when they take on the Nuggets in Denver on Wednesday.
Read more at: Golden State Warriors Media Services / More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
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