1. The HEAT don’t play many normal games against the Clippers out west, but in this case they’ll take an abnormal night – and a normal one from Klay Thompson – to give their season a proper kick.
Usual starters, as usual, and going against an LA Clippers team lacking a bit in playmaking and shot creation with Brandon Ingram – coming over in the Kawhi Leonard deal – out to start the season the HEAT came out like a team trying to prove something on defense.
It was bully mode from the first minute, defenders picking up full court, everyone up on the ball trying to push the Clippers back on their heels. And on their heels they went – with Davion Mitchell ripping Darius Garland in the backcourt – with the Clippers only surviving the opening stanza thanks to some tough shotmaking from Rui Hachimura while Klay Thompson again started off hot on the other end and was somehow left wide open in the corner for his third triple.
Hardly a barnburner, but the HEAT looked comfortably in control after that first period, leading 33-24 as the Clippers endured long stretches of empty-handed possessions.
Then, the second quarter.
There haven’t been many quarters in recent memory with as swift a tonal shift as this one, but as Grady Dick ran up and down the floor on one shoe, whipping a skip pass for a Keaton Wagler three, and Miami ran into serious turnover trouble, the Clippers looked like an entirely different team.
All that bully ball from the first quarter was gone, Wagler and Garland and especially Brook Lopez stepping into looks as a three-point barrage unfolded. It wasn’t just the threes, even with the Clippers going 10-of-20 into halftime, but the runouts off turnovers, the lost attackers cutting baseline.
The run seemingly never ended, a 30-4 opening to the period, with only Bam Adebayo (19 points on 11 shots in the half, getting to the rim and hitting his jumpers) preventing things from getting even worse.
By the break Miami was getting outscored from the arc – Derrick Jones Jr. hit the tenth stepback three of his career in there – and in transition points but were also matched evenly in the paint. In the first, the Clippers had an Offensive Rating of 92.3. In the second, that number hit 172. Clippers lead, 67-52.
Stalemate early in the third, Antetokounmpo aggressive with a dunk over former teammate Lopez, until Miami made up a little ground with Thompson’s fifth and sixth threes, the lead down to 11.
Then it was Andrew Wiggins’ turn, Antetokounmpo drawing help in the post and kicking it to the right wing, the lead down to eight on the flurry.
Slow and steady was the run until much of the work was undone by Max Strus’ back-to-back threes. Things were a bit more on Miami’s terms, albeit with less to show for it than their overall effort showed as they struggled to get long shots to fall from any pair of hands that weren’t Thompson’s.
Some missed free-throws helped, both Lopez and Isaiah Jackson missing a pair in the period, and it was only nine going into the fourth.
Pelle Larsson opened the period hitting Antetokounmpo for a back-cut lob and Antetokounmpo followed it up with an and-one in transition on the next chance, the gap down to four in a hurry as the Clippers stalled out.
As it did in the first period, Mitchell’s ball pressure had the Clippers back on their heels, and you got the feeling that as long as Miami could put together enough offense the win was theirs.
Lopez held out a stiff arm with a few makes, including a banked-in hook from the middle of the floor, the lead back to eight as the HEAT creeped into the bonus for some easy ones. Adebayo was doing his best to keep Miami attached, using his foot speed advantage against Lopez on any touch that had a little runway, the gap only six with four to play.
Then it was four, Mitchell stripping Garland, again, and Antetokounmpo finding an open Larsson under the rim in transition for a 6-0 run and a clutch game. Another Mitchell play out of the timeout and it was two, and then yet another Mitchell strip got Antetokounmpo to the line on the runout. Down to one.
A deep Garland three gave LA an answer, but Mitchell was ready again, a driving and-one floater as he crossed up Garland. Another Clippers turnover and Adebayo gave Miami the lead with a short jumper, but Garland took it back on an inbounds layup.
Down one, 44 seconds to play, Larsson misses a three and then a wild sequence, another Clippers turnover and Antetokounmpo to the line after missing a series of contested putbacks. First good for the tie, second good for the lead. Up on, 10.8 left.
And Hachimura drew a blocking charge with a couple seconds left, but Erik Spoelstra challenged the call. Miami won the challenge, but the foul was moved to Adebayo all the same. Hachimura to the line, the first is off, the second good. Tied up with 2.7 left.
Adebayo got the look over Lopez at the free-throw line, same spot where he’s hit some big ones before, but on to overtime we went.
Garland and Antetokounmpo traded freebies, then another deep one from Garland to push the Clippers up three, only for Antetokounmpo to save a huge possession, blocking a Hachimura dunk from behind and taking it the other way before finding Thompson for a corner three and the tie. Garland answered back in the mid-range, twice, to push it back to four before Adebayo hit a short jumper over Lopez with one minute left.
HEAT ball, still down two with 3.3 seconds left after a scramble, and the Clippers left Thompson wide open in the corner for the win. HEAT take it, 117-116.
2. Heck of a play design from Erik Spoelstra for the game winner, one that built off the look that Adebayo had at the end of regulation.
The first time Miami had a chance for the win, Spoelstra turned to what they had taken advantage of all night, which was Adebayo (35 points on 14-of-20 shooting) and his quickness against Lopez.
Once upon a time, Lopez caused a few issues for Adebayo, his deep drop coverage a big part of forcing Adebayo to evolve his offensive game and add a more consistent jumper. All these years later, Lopez now had to make a choice between stepping up, and often getting burned by Adebayo’s speed, or simply ceding the short jumpers, with Adebayo going 5-of-9 in the mid-range zones. So at the end of the fourth, in a tie game, Spoelstra drew up a quick-hitter set that got Adebayo the ball in space against Lopez, Lopez dropped back to not give up the drive and Adebayo got the look.
Fast forward to the end of overtime, down two, and they used the same matchup in a different way. They knew Lopez would be on Adebayo, and while most teams switch screens in those situations, it would have been a good assumption that Lopez might have trouble making a quick switch and a closeout on a shooter. So, they used Adebayo as a screener for Thompson, and when Adebayo made good contact, Lopez made no attempt to switch, and with the inbound defender not reading the play either, Antetokounmpo had an open lane and Thompson a wide-open look.
Good as Adebayo was, and steady as Antetokounmpo (27 points on 8-of-20 shooting, with 14 rebounds) always is, Thompson’s offense saved this game even before he won it. Miami shot 10-of-40 from the arc, the offense going through a number of droughts, but Thompson had eight of those makes to himself, 8-of-17 from three for 30 points.
And that’s why you don’t overreact when a historically great shooter has a couple of down games to begin the season. Speaking of, Ray Allen hit a game winner in the left corner in his first month with the HEAT, too.
3. It may sound weird, but Miami might have just had their best defensive game of the season on the same night in which they had their worst defensive quarter.
They sure needed it, too, putting up an Offensive Rating of just 104.5 even with a trio of high-scoring performances. You only win games like that with great defense.
It started in that first quarter, Mitchell hounding Garland all over the floor, and while the Clippers went on that incredible run in the second that had Miami playing catchup all night, Miami got right back on track with the same pressure from Mitchell.
It helped that the Clippers, lacking in shot creation, needed Lopez to be such a big part of the offense up top, because that meant Adebayo was involved in almost every action for a team scrambling for airspace. So, Mitchell was able to apply pressure as much as he wanted and, if Lopez made enough contact, know that Adebayo was behind him on the switch.
Garland still sprung free for some big shots, including some late, deep pulls, but the Clippers had an Offensive Rating of just 80.0 in the second half largely because they could hardly find anything easy and their threes were far more contested. Add in some good defensive minutes from Conwell, a couple huge, timely plays from Antetokounmpo and more than enough turnovers forced from all that pressure (20 Clippers turnovers for 23 Miami points) and there’s plenty for Miami to feel good about on that end after a rough night against the Lakers earlier in the week.
Mitchell only scored 11 (with 10 assists) and won’t get the shine that Adebayo, Antetokounmpo and especially Thompson will get after this one, but he was the tip of the spear for a defensive side that needed to find an edge tonight.