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Warriors pull ahead late to beat East-leading Heat
Without Curry, Thompson and Green, Dubs win in Miami.
Golden State Warriors guard Damion Lee (1) looks to pass as Miami Heat guard Max Strus (31) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, March 23, 2022, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
2022.03.23 – On a back-to-back game day, Jordan Poole scored 30 points to continue his hot scoring run, and the Golden State Warriors beat the frustrated Miami Heat 118-104 on Wednesday night.
Without Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, Warriors still pull away late for the critical win in Miami.
The short-handed Warriors made things even worse for Miami when the final buzzer sounded — and suddenly, Miami’s grip on the top spot in the Eastern Conference is tenuous at best.
“Our overall competitive fire and execution at both ends … was excellent,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
Damion Lee, Jonathan Kuminga and Andrew Wiggins each scored 22 points for the Warriors, who got 11 points from Gary Payton II and 16 rebounds from Kevon Looney.
2022.03.23 – Warriors @ Miami Heat – (NBA Video highlights)
Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga (00) aims for the basket as Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, March 23, 2022, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
2022.03.23 – Warriors @ Miami Heat – (NBA Video highlights)
2022.03.23 – Warriors @ Miami Heat – (NBA Video highlights)
The Warriors were already without Curry because of a sprained left foot and Andre Iguodala with low back tightness, plus gave Green, Otto Porter Jr. and Thompson the night off for injury management.
Golden State made that decision based on medical rationale and a desire to minimize the chance of injury going into the playoffs — not because of a bad loss at Orlando on Tuesday.
They had more than enough.
The Heat, they just had problems.
Kyle Lowry scored 26 points, Bam Adebayo had 25, Butler finished with 20 and Duncan Robinson had 13. Miami shook off the huge Warriors run to start the second half — and a huge dust-up on its bench during a timeout — to lead briefly in the fourth, then let the game slip away and had its lead in the Eastern Conference race trimmed to 1-1/2 games over Milwaukee and Boston.
“You can use moments during the season to catapult you,” Spoelstra said. “You can galvanize together over frustration and disappointment. Teams can also go the other way. I don’t see that with our group. I don’t see that with our locker room. But we have needed a kick in the butt.”
2022.03.23 – Shorthanded Warriors turn up the heat – (Post Game Video)
Golden State Warriors guard Jordan Poole (3) gets congratulated by Warriors Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, March 23, 2022, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
2022.03.23 – Shorthanded Warriors turn up the heat – (Post Game Video)
2022.03.23 – Shorthanded Warriors turn up the heat – (Post Game Video)
Miami couldn’t hit anything to start the second half. That’s when the Heat seemed to be contemplating hitting one another.
Golden State started the third quarter on a 19-0 run — capped by three 3-pointers from Poole from 31, 35 and 30 feet respectively, two of them banked in from just in front of the Heat bench to make a disastrous start even worse for Miami.
And during a huddle during a timeout during that Warriors’ flurry, tempers flared on the Miami bench. Butler and Spoelstra had things to say to one another, then Butler and Haslem exchanged words, both eventually needing to be held back by teammates.
“It was crazy,” Lowry said. “It was passion.”
Miami seemed to channel the anger.
The Heat went on a 19-6 run to get the lead down to a 75-69, had the margin down to 81-80 entering the fourth and went up by three early in the final quarter.
Golden State wasn’t flustered in the least. Back-to-back layups by Kuminga gave the Warriors the lead to stay. And a trio of 3-pointers — by Lee, Payton and then Poole — just about sealed things, putting Golden State up 105-95 with 4:21 left to seal perhaps one of the more surprising Warriors wins of the season.
“It’s so important to just keep pushing ahead and not succumb to the noise and to the roller-coaster nature of it all,” Kerr said. “You just got to keep pushing forward. And that’s what our guys did tonight.”
2022.03.23 – Warriors stun East-leading Heat – (Post Game Video)
Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins (22) dribbles the ball around Miami Heat guard Victor Oladipo (4) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, March 23, 2022, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
2022.03.23 – Warriors stun East-leading Heat – (Post Game Video)
https://youtu.be/01VAexiSq7Q
2022.03.23 – Warriors stun East-leading Heat – (Post Game Video)
50-50 BALL
Not only was the score tied 50-50 at halftime, but the score was also tied in each of the first two quarters — 23-23 in the first, 27-27 in the second. It was just the second game in the NBA this season to be tied after one quarter and again at halftime; on Nov. 26, the Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings were tied 20-20 after one, tied 43-43 at the half, and they were just getting started. They were tied after regulation and two overtimes before the Kings prevailed 141-137 in triple-OT.
TIME OFF
The Warriors have three more back-to-backs remaining — Sunday and Monday at Washington and Memphis to end this five-game trip, April 2 and 3 against Utah and Sacramento, then April 9 and 10 for regular-season-ending games at San Antonio and New Orleans. Thompson and Porter are almost certain to be held out of one game in each of those sets, Kerr said.
TIP-INS
Warriors: Golden State improved to just 7-12 in its last 19 games. … The Warriors won for the first time in their last four trips to Miami. Golden State’s last win on the Heat home floor was Dec. 3, 2017.
Heat: It took Miami about 35 minutes to emerge from the locker room for postgame, roughly three times as long as usual. … Olympic sprinting legend Usain Bolt of Jamaica was in the crowd. … It was the second straight loss to a short-handed opponent. Miami lost in Philadelphia on Monday when the 76ers were playing without James Harden and Joel Embiid. … Miami played without Tyler Herro, who got the night off because of a sprained left knee, and Gabe Vincent because of a toe contusion.
UP NEXT
Warriors: Visit Atlanta on Friday.
Heat: Host New York on Friday.
Related – See : Warriors Terminate Suns’ 18-Game Streak
Related – See below: 2018 Warriors NBA Finals (video)
Read more at: Golden State Warriors Media Services / More AP NBA
JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
For more on the Golden State Warriors, see the blog at www.EMIsportsCentral.com
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2018 Warriors NBA Finals video highlights