Not without a significant dose of suffering, the Clippers claimed their sixth consecutive victory in the Heat’s visit to the Staples Center. The Angelenos survived a tight end to take the crash 112-109, continuing their hot streak and their climb up the Western standings, in which they are now sixth despite having taken a few games to start. Miami, on the other hand, suffered its third defeat in a row, which has meant a small slowdown after a more than exciting start.
Those of Spoelstra, however, started the match as clear dominators, and in fact they took 25-40 a first quarter in which they were clearly superior to the Californian team. While Lue’s men needed the game to move forward for their men to get into the rhythm, the Heat started very in tune, with Bam Adebayo doing a lot of damage in the paint and in the middle distance and scoring in the first period 19 of his 30 points . Tyler Herro, a starter due to Jimmy Butler’s absence, also started out quite active, allowing Florida’s team to see themselves with a 17-point lead in the first half.
Nonetheless, the Clippers grew as the game progressed, finding ways to slow down Miami and increasingly involving its important players. Their defensive improvement allowed them to tie the match before the break, and after this they came out with renewed energy, something that was personified in the figure of Reggie Jackson, who seemed like a new player after passing through the locker room. The point guard had not been able to score a single basket in the entire first half, but achieved his 22 points in the second and ended up being a key figure in the local triumph, while Eric Bledose, also key, added 14 in the second half. of his 21 goals.
Paul George, with 27, was the leading scorer of his team, and he made several important baskets in a fourth quarter in which the Heat were reborn by the hand of Kyle Lowry. If men like Adebayo or Herro faded away, the point guard took a step forward in the final stretch that was about to give victory to his team. The former Raptors added 22 of his 25 points in the fourth period, putting Florida’s men back into the game when they seemed stuck and forcing the Clippers to hold on to the win tooth and nail to keep it.
Miami never got ahead, but it did breathe on the back of the Angels’ neck and turn every possession into a battle. George and Jackson’s triples gave air to the locals, but Lowry, tireless, managed to place his team just one point apart with 40 seconds to go (108-107) and steal the ball on the next possession to give Duncan Robinson the option to complete the comeback. However, the forward missed his attempt from the triple, allowing the Angelenos to recover some distance from the free throw.
The visitors had one last possession to try to equalize with a triple, but couldn’t even shoot as Batum intercepted PJ Tucker’s serve. The Clippers thus demonstrated not only having weapons to stand up to anyone, but also the capacity for suffering necessary to take this type of game that lifts a team so emotionally.
(Cover photo: Ronald Martínez / Getty Images)