Heat shut down Damian Lillard, Trail Blazers
Bam Adebayo #13 of the Miami Heat in action against the Houston Rockets during a game at the Toyota Center on February 11, 2021 in Houston, Texas. Carmen Mandato/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Carmen Mandato / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
The Miami Heat held Damian Lillard to just 12 points, beating the host Portland Trail Blazers 107-98 on Sunday night.
Lillard, who entered the game ranked third in the league in scoring (29.0), made just 3-of-10 shots from the floor in 37 minutes. It was his third-lowest-scoring game of the season.
Article continues after this advertisementCJ McCollum and Norman Powell led the Trail Blazers with 17.
Miami was led by Bam Adebayo, who had a game-high 22 points. Jimmy Butler added 20 points. Butler also had game-highs in assists (five) and steals (four).
💥 @Bam1of1 got all the buckets he wanted in this one pic.twitter.com/mvEXQxdSYR
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) April 12, 2021
The Heat played a clean game, with no turnovers in the first half. For the game, the Heat was plus-21 on points off turnovers. Portland coughed up the ball 17 times compared to just eight for Miami.
Miami played without starting guard Victor Oladipo (right knee). But Heat guard Tyler Herro played despite a sore right foot, and he scored 14 points.
Blazers center Enes Kanter, coming off a franchise-record 30 rebounds in Portland’s previous game, suffered an injury scare with 2:08 left in the third quarter. Kanter, who collided heads with teammate Derrick Jones Jr., returned and finished with 10 points and eight rebounds in 20 minutes.
Portland, using an 11-0 run, led 31-25 after the first quarter. Portland dominated the boards, 13-3, while shooting 63.2 percent from the floor, 42.9 percent on 3-pointers (3-for-7) and 4-for-4 on the foul line.
Miami charged back to take a 56-48 halftime lead. The Heat had a 20-0 advantage on first-half points off of turnovers.
Adebayo led all first-half scorers with 15.
The Heat stretched their lead to 89-71 by the end of the third quarter. Miami was plus-24 on points off turnovers through three quarters.
Miami cruised in the fourth, winning despite getting outrebounded 41-30.
