Led by Paul George, Clippers nip Heat for sixth straight win
Paul George #13 of the LA Clippers takes a shot against Kyle Lowry #7 of the Miami Heat in the first quarter at Staples Center on November 11, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. Ronald Martinez/Getty Images/AFP
Paul George scored 27 points and Reggie Jackson added 22 as the Los Angeles Clippers held on Thursday to push their winning streak to six games with a 112-109 victory over the visiting Miami Heat.
Eric Bledsoe added 21 points as the Clippers rallied from an early 17-point deficit then held off a late Miami run while improving to 3-0 at the start of a stretch of six consecutive home games.
Bam Adebayo scored 30 points with 11 rebounds for the Heat, while Kyle Lowry scored 22 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter as Miami was playing without Jimmy Butler (ankle) and Markieff Morris (neck) because of injuries.
Tyler Herro added 23 points for the Heat, who are on a three-game losing streak and have dropped four of their last five games, following a 6-1 start.
George: 27 PTS
Jackson: 22 PTS
Bledsoe: 21 PTS@Yg_Trece, @Reggie_Jackson and @EBled2 got buckets in the @LAClippers sixth-straight win 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ozvoBZ4eF2— NBA (@NBA) November 12, 2021
Ivica Zubac had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers, who are on their longest winning streak since a seven-game run in April of last season.
The Heat looked fresh while storming out to a 17-point lead in the opening period, but the Clippers tied it in the second before Miami led 58-56 at the break. The Clippers didn’t take their first lead until the opening 75 seconds of the second half.
Los Angeles led by as many as nine in the third quarter when the Heat shot just 33.3 percent (9 of 27) from the field and went 1 of 10 from 3-point range. The Clippers held a 30-20 third-period advantage to take an 86-78 lead into the fourth.
Adebayo had 19 points in the first quarter but just five in the second and four in the third as the Clippers made their charge. Jackson didn’t score in the first half for the Clippers on three missed shots before coming to life with 15 third-quarter points.
The Heat found the energy to pull within 99-96 with 4:58 remaining on 11 consecutive points from Lowry and cut it to a 108-107 with 40.7 seconds left on a Lowry three-point play.
Miami’s Duncan Robinson missed a go-ahead 3-pointer with 15.7 seconds remaining.
