Norman Powell led a late charge to cap a 25-point night, Bam Adebayo returned from a six-game absence to contribute 20 points and the Miami Heat took advantage of a road-weary and short-handed Golden State Warriors club to pull out a 110-96 home victory Wednesday night.
Playing without Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler III, Draymond Green, Al Horford and Jonathan Kuminga at the end of a six-game trip, the Warriors rallied from a game-opening, 20-4 deficit to take a 74-69 lead in the final minute of the third quarter.
But, seeking a seventh win in eight home games this season, Miami scored the final three points of the period, then tacked on the first seven of the fourth quarter to take the lead for good. Kel’el Ware had a pair of hoops in the 10-0, period-bridging run that gave the hosts a 79-74 lead.
The Warriors never led again as the Heat finished strong, putting up 38 fourth-quarter points after being held to a total of 43 in the middle two periods.
On a night when neither team shot well, Powell converted 10 of his 14 attempts en route to his game-high point total.
Andrew Wiggins chipped in with 17 points, Jaime Jaquez Jr. had 12 to complement a team-high seven assists, and Pelle Larsson and Simone Fontecchio 10 apiece for the Heat, who won despite shooting just 40.6%.
Miami aided its point total with 14 offensive rebounds that helped produce 48 points in the paint. Ware had four of the offensive boards and a game-high 16 rebounds overall.
Adebayo, who had missed the previous six games with a sprained big toe on his left foot, started and put in 29 minutes, during which he complemented his double-figure point total with seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal.
Brandin Podziemski had 20 points, Quinten Post 19 and Buddy Hield 18 for the Warriors, who attached an injury designation to each of its five missing players on the second night of the second back-to-back of their nine-day marathon. They went 3-3 on the trip.
On a night of season- and career-highs for many of the seldomly used Warriors, Pat Spencer aided the visitors’ cause with a career-best 13 assists to go with 11 points and eight rebounds. Trayce Jackson-Davis chipped in with eight points and a season-high 11 boards.
The Warriors shot just 36.2% and, without Curry, misfired on 36 of their 49 3-point attempts.
–Field Level Media
