Comeback Warriors Win a Wild One Over the Heat

The Warriors didn’t hold a lead until 51 minutes and 28 seconds into the game, but somehow, someway posted an improbable 120-112 overtime win over the Heat at Chase Center on Wednesday night.

The Dubs forced overtime with a 20-6 run to close the fourth quarter, and two 3-pointers from Stephen Curry and another from Andrew Wiggins in the extra period proved huge in the Warriors’ first overtime victory since December 18, 2017.

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The path to this victory was an unusual one to say the least. The Dubs were undersized, undermanned and trailed by 15 points in the fourth quarter against the reigning Eastern Conference champs. Add to that the fact that Curry, a two-time NBA MVP who had been on a roll, was having a rough shooting night, and Draymond Green (right ankle soreness) was a late scratch, and the deck was stacked against the Warriors.

But big performances from Kent Bazemore and Kelly Oubre Jr. kept the Warriors in the game, and Curry closed out the overtime period with a pair of dagger threes to lift the Warriors to the win. Bazemore kept the Warriors in the game early with two first quarter 3-pointers, and he came through late with eight straight Warriors points bridging the third and fourth quarters, the last being a tip-in with 1:38 left in overtime that gave the Dubs their first lead of the game. Bazemore finished the game with a season-high 26 points, his second straight game setting a season-high in scoring after his 24-point effort in Monday’s win over Cleveland.

Bazemore led the way in keeping the Dubs in the game, and Curry overcame a rough shooting night and delivered late. His step-back 3-pointer with 1:15 left in the game put the Warriors in front for good, and on the team’s next possession he assisted an Andrew Wiggins 3-pointer from the corner. Miami answered with a Duncan Robinson 3-pointer, but Curry then followed with another trey that all but sealed the game, putting the Dubs up six with 17.0 seconds left in the game.

Curry finished the night with 25 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds. He was 8-for-25 from the floor, ending his streak of 10 straight games scoring at least 25 points on 50 percent or better shooting, the longest such streak by an NBA guard since Michael Jordan (11 games) in 1995-96.

With Curry having an off-night in terms of shooting percentage, Bazemore, Oubre and Wiggins picked up the slack. All three wings made four 3-pointers apiece, and Oubre and Wiggins each finished with 23 points and eight rebounds, and Eric Paschall gave the Warriors some big minutes off the bench, tallying his third-straight double-digit scoring performance (11 points).

The Warriors had already been playing for a few weeks without a true center, as prior injuries to James Wiseman, Kevon Looney and Marquese Chriss left Andrew Wiggins the tallest active player on the roster at 6-foot-7. Green had assumed the starting center role and amassed 86 assists in the last seven games, the most by a center over a seven-game span in at least the last 51 years (when starters were first tracked).

Without Green running the offense, the Warriors mainly relied on their perimeter game in the early going. The Dubs’ first six shots of the game were all 3-pointers, going more than four minutes before the team attempted a two-pointer. The only issue – the Dubs weren’t making their outside shots, and the Heat capitalized on their size advantage and pushed their lead to as many as 14 points in the opening quarter.

The Warriors shot 6-for-24 on 3-pointers in the first half, and Miami extended their lead to as many as 19 points in the second quarter before the Dubs started to chip away. A 15-point game at the break, the Dubs finally saw their 3-pointers start to fall in the third quarter. They made four of their first seven treys and opened the period on a 13-3 run to get within four.

Miami answered with a 13-4 spurt to push their advantage back into double digits, and the Heat led by 15 midway through the fourth quarter before the Dubs made their run to force overtime and ultimately win the game.

Winners of four of their last five, the Warriors will be on the road for seven of their next eight games before the All-Star break, starting with Friday’s matchup in Orlando.

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