Tag: Miami Heat

Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) drives to the basket against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Mon Jan 3, 2022 (AP News photo)

Poole Leads Warriors To Win Over Heat 115-108

By Barbara Mason

Just when we were all wondering when we would see Draymond Green back in the lineup, we got our answer Monday night when the Warriors (29-7) took on the Miami Heat (23-15). The Warriors would need him against a very tough Miami team .The Warriors would overcome, the final was 115-108.

Golden State would play a near perfect first quarter leading 33-25. They had shot 57% and had six from downtown. In the second quarter the Warriors led by as much as 13 points but the Heat would dissolve that lead and tie up the game mid-way through the quarter. Miami had scored nine unanswered points. After two quarters the Warriors took back the lead 59-54 at halftime.

Green was spectacular in the half with 10 assists. Andrew Wiggins led the pack with 16 points followed by Jordan Poole with 14 points. Golden State had 8 shots from downtown and only had four turnovers.

The Heat had a bit of a issue in the first quarter on defense. The most pressing issue for Miami were the turnovers which the Warriors took full advantage of. Some were uncharacteristic while some were due to the Warriors defense.

This is what hurt the Heat the most. What had kept them in this game was the play of Jimmy Butler who scored 12 points and Kyle Lowry with 11 points. The three point shooting really got on track for Miami in the second quarter. The Heat are also short-handed as are many teams across the league. They have five out with injury and five out on Covid protocol.

The Warriors would have a lot of work to do in the second half. As the third quarter began to wind down the Heat had a terrible loss as Jimmy Butler rolled his right ankle and was helped to the Miami locker room.

Butler was a huge part of keeping the Heat in this game and had shot 22 points just prior to his injury. After three quarters the Warriors led 89-82. With the Warriors doing so much so well it was a testament to the great play by the Heat to even stay close.

With 5:36 remaining in the fourth quarter the Warriors were holding onto a 106-100 lead trying to put away the Heat who had been stubborn all quarter in the absence of Butler and refused to go away. In the final four minutes of this game the Warriors kept coming up with stop after stop while the Golden State offense had come unglued. Poole had an amazing run with 32 points as they completely closed out the Heat.

The Warriors really cashed in by using Stephen Curry as a decoy in this game. Golden State has plenty of power when it comes to shooting from downtown so this strategy worked out well for the Warriors. The defense led by Green was superior and the offensive play of the Warriors was amazing. Poole with 32 points, Wiggins with 22, and Payton with 14 led the team.

The Warriors will be taking on the New Orleans Pelicans Thursday at Smoothie King Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 PM.

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.

The Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry (30) is fouled by Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (left) in the second half at Chase Center in San Francisco on Wed Feb 17, 2021 (AP News photo)

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors found a way to come back from a 19point deficit to beat the visiting Miami Heat in overtime 120-112. The Warriors’ Draymond Green did not play as he had soreness in his right ankle. Draymond had recorded 86 assists in his last seven games.

He was the only center to accomplish that feat in 51 years. The Warriors used Juan Toscano-Anderson and Eric Paschall at center. Neither player is taller than six feet six inches in height.

The Heat had the height advantage with Bam Adebayo and Kelly Olynyk. The Warriors head coach Steve Kerr knew that his team’s only chance of winning was making three-pointers. It was another fantastic finish for the Warriors. The came back to beat the LA Clippers and the LA Lakers earlier this year. This was another thriller.

Things did not go well for the Warriors for the first three-quarters of the game. The Warriors tied the game at six in the first period. The Heat went on a 14-2 run in the first quarter to lead 33-19. The Heat finished the quarter leading 36-24. The Heat double-teamed Steph Curry all night long. In the first 12 minutes of play, Curry made one three in nine tries.

The Heat won the second quarter 25-22 to finish the first half with a 15-point advantage. Curry had seven points in the half. Kelly Oubre, Jr. had 11. Andrew Wiggins and Kent Bazemore each had ten.

Bam Adebayo and Kendrick Nunn were the scoring leaders for Miami. The Heat shot 56% from the floor and connected on eight three. The Warriors shot 41% from the floor and were six for 24 from three-point range. The Heat led 61-46.

The Warriors regrouped and played better in the third quarter. Warriors continued to fail the make threes. He was one for six in the quarter. However, the Warriors started the period with a 13-3 run to close the deficit to five 64-59.

Miami’s two bigs, Abedayo and Olynyk, made a couple of buckets to put Miami ahead 71-62. Miami increased the lead to 13, 79-66. The Warriors continued to play hard. They refused to quit. Bazemore and Oubre each made a three to get the Warriors a little closer. They trailed the Heat by ten 86-76 at the end of the third quarter.

Former Warrior Andre Iguodala started the Heat on the right foot to start the fourth period. Andre knocked down a three to make it 89-76. They went up by 15, 96-81. The Warriors refused to wilt. Brad Wanamaker made a three.

Oubre, Wiggins, and Eric Paschall all made buckets to make it a three-point game 99-96 with 3:37 left to play. Miami made it 103-98 until Curry connected on a three to cut the deficit to two 103-101 with 2:16 left. Miami’s Bam Adebayo made it 105-101. Kent Bazemore made two buckets to tie the game at 105. The Warriors had gone on a 20-6 run to tie the game.

In overtime, Miami scored first to lead 107-15. The Heat would never lead again. Bazemore tied the game at 107. The Warriors went ahead 109-107. Miami made a bucket to tie. Curry, who had been hounded and double-teamed all night, made a three to put the Warriors ahead 112-109.

Wiggins hit a corner three to put Golden State in the driver’s seat 115-109. with 40 seconds left. Miami’s Duncan Robinson made a three to close the gap to 115-112. Curry’s three was the shot that ended Miami’s hope for a win.

The Warriors led 118-112 with 15.9 seconds to play. The Heat turned the ball over. They fouled Warriors, and he made both free throws to ice the win. The Warriors win 120-112.

Game Notes and Stats: With the win, the Warriors are 16-13 for the year. The Warriors had just 15 wins last year. Miami is now 11-17. 

Warriors highlights:  Curry had 18 points in the second half to finish with 25. He made five threes in 20 tries. He made two threes in the five-minute overtime to secure the win. Four other Warrior players were in double figures.

Kent Bazemore led the Warriors with 26 points. He was 10-for-19 from the floor, and he made four threes. Kelly Oubre, Jr had 23 points, eight rebounds, and two assists. He, too, made four threes.

Andrew Wiggins had a big night with 23 points and eight rebounds. He added four threes. Eric Paschall finished with 11. The Warriors, as a team, shot 45.3% from the floor. They were 18-for-52 from three-point range. The Heat outrebounded the Dubs 56-55. The smaller Warriors worked hard in the second half to outrebound them 35-30.

Miami totals-The Heat had seven players in double-figures. Bam Adebayo had 24, Kendrick Nunn 19, Duncan Robinson 13, Tyler Herro 11, Andre Iguodala 10. Jim Butler had a triple-double. He had 11 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists.

The Warriors on a four-game road trip starting Thursday night in Orlando. The game will start at 4 pm.