Warriors pull away in 2nd half to top Heat minus Jimmy Butler
Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson (11) goes up for a shot against Miami Heat guard Patty Mills (88) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, March 26, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
MIAMI — Jonathan Kuminga controlled an offensive rebound midway through the third quarter and slapped the ball out to Stephen Curry, who connected on a 3-pointer from the “C” in the Heat Culture logo painted across midcourt.
The Golden State bench roared in approval.
So did tons of fans. And this wasn’t in San Francisco. It was in Miami.
The Warriors’ trend of having more wins on the road than at home continued on Tuesday night. Klay Thompson returned to the starting lineup and scored 28 points, Kuminga added 18 and the Warriors pulled away in the second half to beat the still-shorthanded Miami Heat 113-92 in the NBA.
"Curry from Biscayne Bay!"
Warriors-Heat | Live on the NBA App
📲 https://t.co/VlzJBNBuuv pic.twitter.com/syIdujNvkd— NBA (@NBA) March 27, 2024
READ: Warriors slip closer to the ‘other end of the standings’
“Our assist to turnover ratio was really good,” Thompson said, scanning the postgame stat sheet that showed the Warriors with 30 assists and 12 total turnovers. “That’s always a great indicator of if it’s a good night at the office.”
The Warriors are 18-19 at home and now 19-15 on the road; they’re on pace to be the second team in NBA history to finish with a winning record overall while having a sub-.500 record at home.
“You walk into any arena in the league on the road and there’s automatically blue and yellow jerseys all over the place,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “Steph’s got so many fans across the country and a lot of people cheer for him no matter where we are.”
Curry and Andrew Wiggins each scored 17 for Golden State, which led by two at the half and then led by as many as 22 points in the fourth.
Bam Adebayo scored 24 points for Miami, which played without leading scorer Jimmy Butler — sidelined by an illness. The Heat also were without Tyler Herro (foot) for a 16th consecutive game, Kevin Love (heel) for a 14th consecutive game and Duncan Robinson (back) for a fourth game in a row.
Haywood Highsmith and Terry Rozier each scored 15 points for the Heat. Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 12 and Nikola Jovic had 11. Miami fell to 2-16 when it scored less than 103 points.
“It helps when they’re missing their elite scorers,” Thompson said.
READ: NBA: Timberwolves hit 23 triples, overcome Warriors
Starting off Q3 with a 3️⃣
📺 @NBCSAuthentic pic.twitter.com/ZItPgyjZoM
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) March 27, 2024
Thompson was 11 for 20 from the floor, 6 for 14 on 3-pointers and had his highest-scoring game since Feb. 15 for the Warriors.
Miami was within 87-81 early in the fourth; Golden State outscored the Heat 26-11 the rest of the way.
“We could never get it to the moment of truth,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “And you have to credit Golden State.”
The Warriors (37-34) moved a full game ahead of idle Houston in the race for 10th — and the final play-in spot — in the Western Conference.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Warriors center Kevon Looney said.
Miami (39-33) remained seventh in the Eastern Conference, tied with Philadelphia but one spot over the 76ers because of a head-to-head tiebreaker. The loss also left Miami 1 1/2 games behind Indiana in the race for the sixth, and last guaranteed playoff spot, in the East.
NEXT SCHEDULE
Warriors: Visit Orlando on Wednesday.
Heat: Host Portland on Friday.
