Mateo’s Hoop Diary: Heat tie franchise best in 3-point makes at home, overwhelming Clippers

The Heat shamed the Clippers, tying a franchise record in made 3-pointers (24) and setting a new season high in blocked shots (10). It was their fifth time scoring at least 140 points this season, yet they got sloppy at the end because of poor attention to detail and thinking the Clippers gave up. 

Miami started extra alert, coming off Saturday’s three-point loss at home. Coach Erik Spoelstra said that some of the motivation was that “really good teams don’t lose two in a row at home.”

Bam Adebayo broke the ice with a dominant first few minutes, nailing jumpers, attacking the basket, and swiping Ivica Zubac’s shot from behind. Then Andrew Wiggins went on the next flurry, making three baskets and blocking a shot in the corner. Four other Heatles made 3-pointers, bringing the output to seven out of nine for the quarter, and eight of them got on the scoreboard.

Their 14-point lead was short-lived because Kawhi Leonard rampaged through the lane, and the Clippers momentarily snatched the lead. Yet the Heat’s scorching 3-point shooting continued as they set a new season high for a half (14), and their lead was quickly raised to 26.

On top of that, Norman Powell is clearly not over the Clippers wasting his time with “blown smoke” over the summer before trading him, reflected by his 30 digits on 66.7% accuracy in the Heat’s second game against them this year. It was a slow start for him, but he eventually mowed down schemes, and he made three straight shots in the last few minutes of the first half, too.

They went to halftime ahead by 20, and their longest unanswered streak was 20 points, bringing their block total to nine as well. Four Heatles had multiple treys apiece, and Powell plus Davion Mitchell made the most (3).

They kept beating a dead horse, adding seven more trifectas, taking a 32-point lead going into the fourth. Clippers coach Ty Lue even briefly benched his starters two minutes into the third as it became clear his crew needed external motivation. 

The ball movement subsequently slowed down, and coach Erik Spoelstra re-inserted four starters five minutes into the fourth as they were up 25. Leonard erupted again, logging 19 points in the period on jumpers and drives, further shrinking the lead to 12. But Powell, Wiggins, Mitchell, and Herro combining for six shots in the lane in crunch time was enough to hold off LAC’s comeback. Spoelstra then gave rookie Kasparas Jakučionis his first NBA action in the last 53.7 seconds.

The Heat won 140-123. Eight players combined for their 24 3-pointers.

Adebayo kept it cool in his on-court interview on the abundance of 3-pointers, saying, “We work on that every practice…”

Games Notes:

• Five Heatles logged double-figure scoring, between 16 and 30 points, and the half-court offense logged 120 points per 100 plays, good enough for the 96th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass. Additionally, most of Miami’s attempts came in the paint non-restricted area and above the break. They shot 12.2% above the league average at the former spot and 21.7% higher than the average at the latter.

• Pelle Larsson injured his ankle in the first half and didn’t play the rest of the game. Spoelstra offered nothing but crumbs, saying the diagnosis from him and the trainers is that “he would be alright.”

• Aside from 16 points, Mitchell recorded 12 assists against two turnovers. Spoelstra said, “It’s the pace. Every time there was an opportunity for us to extend the lead in the open court, he was just making all the right reads…”

• Adebayo was involved with a good chunk of the long-range action, setting a career high (5) in makes. Additionally, the Heat made 30% of their 3-point attempts in the fourth quarter. 

• James Harden played two minutes in the second half, and he was not injured.

• The Heat were in cruise control to start fourth, and a Nikola Jović sighting never came.