Jordan Poole scored 30 points and dished nine assists Wednesday as the short-handed Golden State Warriors defeated the host Miami Heat 118-104.
Kyle Lowry led Miami with 26 points and a game-high-tying nine assists. Miami was also helped by Bam Adebayo’s 25 points and nine rebounds and Jimmy Butler’s 20 points. Butler went 2-for-2 on 3-pointers. That’s noteworthy because he entered the game shooting just 18.5 percent from deep this season.
The Heat (47-26), who have the best record in the Eastern Conference, have lost two straight games.
Damion Lee, Andrew Wiggins and Jonathan Kuminga added 22 points each for Golden State (48-25), which broke its three-game losing streak.
Kuminga fouled out with 5:35 left. The Warriors challenged the call, arguing that Butler should’ve been charged with an offensive foul, but the officials ruled a lack of conclusive evidence for an overturn.
The Warriors, on the second night of back-to-back games, rested Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Otis Porter Jr., and were also without star guard Stephen Curry (left-foot injury).
Miami was without its second-leading scorer, Tyler Herro (knee injury). Heat reserve Gabe Vincent (toe injury) also missed the game.
In the first quarter, Miami led by 11 points before going scoreless for the final 4:23. That allowed Golden State to forge a 23-23 tie to end the quarter. The Warriors had a 14-2 advantage in points in the paint, which made up for 1 of 10 3-point shooting. Miami shot 5-for-10 from deep.
The game was also tied at halftime, 50-50, as Lowry had one steal and two buckets in the final 12 seconds. Lee kept Golden State in the hunt with 12 second-quarter points off the bench. Miami had a 9-0 edge in second-quarter fast-break points.
Golden State started the third quarter by scoring 19 straight points on 7-for-9 shooting. Miami missed eight straight shots and had two turnovers to start the quarter.
However, Miami closed the quarter with a 30-12 run, closing the Heat’s deficit to 81-80.
Golden State was able to close out the Heat in the fourth quarter, however.
For the game, the Warriors shot 51.9 percent from the floor, including 41.7 percent on 3-pointers (15-for-36). Miami shot 43.5 percent, including 14-for-36 on 3-pointers (38.9 percent).
–Field Level Media