The LA Clippers fell to the Miami Heat despite yet another epic second-half comeback push. Down 23 at one point, the bench got it down to a two possession game late but ran out of time. The Heat, to their credit, clearly had heard of the Clippers’ late game heroics and held it together to win, 121-114.
Summary
The Clippers hung tough for the first eight-or-so minutes of the game, but eventually let the Heat get away from them. The Heat would end the first quarter up nine, and were led by 10 early points from Jimmy Butler (who was questionable before the game with a toe injury but ended up starting). Nico Batum led the Clippers, hitting 3/4 of his first quarter shots (including two threes). Overall, though, the Clippers started ice cold, shooting 31.8% from the field and 28.6% from three.
The Heat would extend their first quarter lead to 14 in the second, though a late-quarter layup by Eric Bledsoe send the Clippers into the locker room down 12 at the half. The Clippers continued to shoot poorly, missing all nine of their second quarter three point attempts.
Gabe Vincent went nuts to start the second half, hitting six threes. Duncan Robinson would add two and Max Strus added one in the third quarter. The Heat would eventually go up by 23 mid-third quarter, but the Clippers’ offense came alive as well, scoring 35 points to the Heat’s 39. The Clippers had a 15-6 run going late in the quarter until the Heat put up five unanswered to take a 16 point lead into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth, a rotation of Brandon Boston, Isaiah Hartenstein, Justise Winslow, Luke Kennard, Jay Scrubb, Terance Mann, and Amir Coffey kept battling in true Clipper fashion. Although they got the deficit down to four with 34 seconds left, there just was not enough time left to complete the comeback. The Heat, although they were outscored by nine in the fourth quarter, kept playing hard, hustling for offensive rebounds and getting to the free throw line.
Notes
Return of “A Tribe Called Bench?”: The Clippers’ bench outscored the Heat’s 64-18. They were led by 23 from Luke Kennard, 19 from Eric Bledsoe, and 10 from Justise Winslow. Winslow was a team-high +15 in his 26 minutes on his former home court. He also had a few great hustle plays that do not show up in the “box score,” such as stripping Tyler Herro, forcing a turnover, late in the game. As Justin Russo pointed out, the bench carried a huge load in the second half; in fact, Reggie, Ivica Zubac, and Nicolas Batum did not even play in the fourth quarter.
Scorching Hot from the Free Throw Line: The Heat were 26/27 from the line, primarily because Jimmy Butler was 16/16. The Clippers, on the other hand, were 23/32 (71.9%). What should have been a free throw advantage, simply based on attempts, turned out to be a liability. It was not the difference in the game on its own but, compounded by Gabe Vincent’s three point outburst, it played a big role in stopping the Clippers’ comeback.
That just about does it for our recap of this Clippers-Heat game. The Clippers head to Charlotte to take on the Hornet (who just beat the Lakers) on Sunday.
