Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) throws down on the Golden State Warriors center Kevin Looney (5) and guard Kelly Oubre Jr on Thu Apr 1, 2021 in Miami (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Warriors started a three-game road trip on a sour note as they lost a very competitive contest to the host Miami Heat 116-109. The Heat made three deals at the NBA trade deadline in the hopes of going deep into the NBA playoffs this year. They added Trevor Ariza, Victor Oladipo, and Nemanja Bleica to strengthen their roster. The Warriors did not make any major moves. The one trade they made was to send Marquese Chriss to the San Antonio Spurs.

The Heat raced out to an early 14-4 lead in the first quarter. Andrew Wiggins led the Warriors back by making a couple of threes. Damion Lee connected on a three to give the Warriors the lead 21-19. Stephen Curry made a bucket to put Golden State up by 23-19. The Warriors finished the quarter with a slim one-point advantage 24-23. 

The teams traded leads several times in the second period. The teams were tied at 32, 37, 40, and 45. Miami went on a 10-2 run to lead 55-47. Curry made a three close the gap to two 56-54. Miami scored the last three points of the quarter to lead 59-54 at the intermission.

The Warriors played well to start the third quarter. They regained the lead 65-63 when Draymond Green knocked down a three. Miami wasn’t fazed. They led by two 77-75 when they started to pull away from the Warriors. They maintained their five-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. 

No matter how hard the Warriors tried, they could not regain the lead. The Heat’s big three of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Duncan Robinson kept turning away the Warriors. Miami increased the lead to ten 110-100 with time running out. Curry made two threes, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit. Miami wins 116-109.

Game Notes and Stats: With the loss, the Warriors are now 23-25 for the season. The Heat improved to 25-24.

Two of the Warrior starters were in double figures. Curry had 36 points, 11 rebounds, and three assists. Curry was nine-for 19 from the floor. He was five-for-eleven from behind the three-point arc. Draymond Green almost had a triple-double. Green’s line was 16 points, ten boards, and eight assists. Andrew Wiggins finished with 23 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. Wiggins made five threes. Jordan Poole had nine, and Kelly Oubre 8.

As a team, the Warriors shot 44 % from the floor and made 15 threes in 37 attempts. The Warriors turned the ball over 20 times to lead to 27 Miami Heat points.

The Heat had six players in double-figures. Jimmy Butler paced the Heat with 22, Duncan Robinson 21, Bam Adebayo 19, Tyler Herro 20, Trevor Ariza 10, and former Warrior Andre Iguodala 10. Andre tormented his former teammates as he knocked down two threes to help propel Miami to victory. 

The Warriors play Friday night again when they face the Toronto Raptors. The game will start at 5 pm.