Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) dunks the ball during the first half against the Golden State Warriors at FTX Arena in Miami on Tue Nov1, 2022 (AP News photo)

Miami Hands Warriors Third Loss In a Row 116-109

By Barbara Mason

Tuesday evening the Golden State Warriors (3-4) took on the Miami Heat (2-5) looking to avoid a third loss in a row. Golden State needed to pay close attention to their defense in transition and also keeping the fouls to a minimum. The Heat were looking for a little payback after losing to the Warriors last Thursday 123-110 and they got it with a 116-109 win over the Warriors Tuesday.

Tuesday game recap: The first quarter showed some great defense on both sides. With three minutes left in the quarter, the Warriors had taken a slim lead 21-17 but had missed out on some great offensive opportunities. That lead disappeared and the Heat opened up a 25-21 advantage. As the clock ran out in the opening quarter the Heat conducted a nice run and closed out the first 12 minutes leading 33-24. It was a 20 to 3 run for the Heat building a nine point lead.

The Warriors continued to chip away at the Miami lead. Golden State won the second quarter 32-25 and at the half the Heat held a slim lead 58-56. After struggling on this road trip, Andrew Wiggins had a great first half with 14 points. The Warriors continued to struggle with turnovers committing ten in the first half.

Klay Thompson who did not play Sunday but on Tuesday had a productive third quarter as did Wiggins. The Warriors defense led the offense in this game and Golden State saw flashes of that championship team, that great execution the Warriors are so used to seeing but the Warriors continued to send Miami to the line giving up too many points. Heading into the fourth quarter the Warriors had built an eight point lead 94-86. The bench, Jamychal Green, Jordan Poole, James Wiseman and Moses Moody finished the final three minutes of the third.

The start of the fourth quarter was a good one for Kyle Lowry hitting a couple of three’s challenging Golden State. The Heat had 22 points off of Warrior turnovers making this game a tight one 100-97 with 8:22 left in the game. Miami went on a ten point run and took the lead 102-100 with just over six minutes left on the clock. With 5:25 left the score was tied at 104. The Heat were making some crazy shots from downtown in the fourth quarter. It went down to three minutes of crunch time in this game with the Heat leading 112-109.

The final blow for the Warriors was a lengthy review that was decided in favor of the Heat instead of three shots from the line for Warrior guard Stephen Curry. Those three shots could very well have tied up this game. With 9.5 left on the clock Jimmy Butler extended the Miami lead 114-109 and the Warriors had dropped their third game in a row.

The Warriors outshot the Heat, they made more three’s than the Heat but it was the turnovers that once again was the problem. The Warriors have not won a road game this season. Golden State simply ran into a buzzsaw with the Miami Heat. The Warriors could not close out this game, unable to buy a bucket in the final minutes of the fourth quarter

Curry finished with 23 points, Wiggins with 21 and Thompson with 19. Curry had a great game with 13 rebounds but they came up short once again. So far this season Curry has been a constant, the team looking better tonight. They absolutely got some tough breaks in this game.

Thursday night the Warriors will continue to chase their first road win of the season taking on the Orlando Magic. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:00 PM.