LOS ANGELES – The failure to finish defined the first two games of this four-game Miami Heat western swing, first an inability Thursday night against the San Antonio Spurs, then something similar Sunday night against the Los Angeles Lakers.
This time, Erik Spoelstra’s team stepped up to the challenge, even when challenged to the finish, holding off the Los Angeles Clippers 120-119 Monday night at the Intuit Dome.
With Norman Powell back in the mix, the Heat were able to withstand a miserable defensive first half by getting scrappy when needed, as they next head off to conclude the week–plus away from Miami with a Wednesday night game against the Denver Nuggets.
The Heat got 25 points and 10 rebounds from Bam Adebayo, 21 points from Powell against his former team, 17 from Andrew Wiggins and 16 from Kel’el Ware in his shift to the bench.
For the Clippers, there were 29 points from James Harden and 27 from Kawhi Leonard.
Five Degrees of Heat from Monday night’s game:
1. Game flow: The Heat led 32-30 after the first quarter, despite 15 points from Leonard. The Clippers then moved to a 71-66 lead at half, before the Heat responded for a 103-95 lead going into the fourth.
But just as the Heat rallied in the third, so did the Clippers at the start of the fourth, leaving it tied midway through the final period.
Later, with the score tied 113-113, Wiggins converted a 3-pointer with 2:23 to play for a 116-113 Heat lead, only to see Harden tie it 116-116 with a 3-pointer of his own.
That’s when Adebayo stepped up, first with a go-ahead jumper, then stopping Harden, with a pair of Adebayo free throws putting the Heat up 120-116 with 57.4 seconds to play.
Still, it wasn’t over, with Harden converting a 3-pointer to draw the Clippers within 120-119 with 19.5 seconds to play, after Adebayo was off with a jumper.
From there, Powell was trapped into a jumpball that the Clippers won with 16.5 seconds to play.
The Clippers then played for the win, with Leonard off with a jumper.
2. Downsizing: With Powell back in the mix, the Heat not only remixed the starting lineup, but downsized, with 7-foot Ware the one replaced from the lineup that opened the three games Powell missed with his groin strain.
To a degree, it was a factor of matching up with a Clippers lineup that started lithe former Heat wing Derrick Jones Jr. at power forward.
The Heat’s realignment had 6-7 Wiggins playing as the de facto Heat starting power forward, with Pelle Larsson starting for the fourth consecutive game.
While he didn’t necessarily fill the box score, Larsson’s energy was infectious during the Heat’s third-quarter comeback.
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3. Then Ware: Ware entered for the first time with 4:56 to play in the opening period.
He quickly moved to 12 points in his first 11 minutes, draining both of his opening 3-point attempts, while also providing defensive deterrence at the rim.
The constant with Ware was an either/or approach with Ware and Adebayo.
Ware was the choice at the start of the fourth quarter, draining a 3-pointer for the Heat’s first points of the period. Adebayo then returned with 9:55 to play.
4. Attack mode: Adebayo scored nine of the Heat’s first 14 points, including a 3-pointer that extended his career-high streak of games with at least one conversion to 19 games dating to last season.
He was up to 21 points through three periods, at seven rebounds at that stage.
5. Solid, then out: Powell scored seven quick points in his return against the Lakers, but then was forced to the bench with his second foul with 4:56 left in the opening period.
As he did before his groin injury Powell worked his way to the foul line, at 7 of 7 on free throws through three periods.
The Heat went 1-2 in Powell’s absence, winning at home against the Charlotte Hornets and then losing at the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers.