Warriors dominate, grab a critical win in Miami

That was a nice change of pace.

With their grasp on a play-in tournament spot starting to slip, the Golden State Warriors headed to South Beach in dire need of a win. In such dire need that our own Daniel Hardee labeled it a “must win game” in his preview.

The Warriors were dealt a favorable hand before the game began, when Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler was ruled out due to an illness. But that wasn’t the only personnel change: perhaps sensing a little bit of desperation, Steve Kerr re-inserted Klay Thompson into the starting lineup, where he displaced rookie Brandin Podziemski.

Everything ended up working out brilliantly, though it took a little while to get going. A parade of fouls from both teams, and a review had the game moving slowly and in an ugly fashion early. It took a while for either team to find offense, and while I’m not sure what Golden State’s excuse was, I certainly know what Miami’s was: Draymond Green, who put on a defensive clinic. Eventually the Warriors offense followed, and they led 18-10 halfway through the quarter.

But things got sloppy when the benches entered the game, and Miami erased the lead in a hurry. The Heat, as they often do, took immaculate care of the ball: after the first quarter the Warriors had committed five turnovers and forced none, and they trailed 26-24.

The teams played tug of war in the second quarter, with neither team able to take full control. The Warriors bench again struggled, with Chris Paul having some uncharacteristic turnover issues. But defense and critical shot-making kept the Warriors in it. As the teams went to the locker rooms, it was anyone’s game, with Miami clinging to a 55-53 lead.

And then the third quarter Warriors showed up and the game was never the same. Thompson, who provided clutch buckets all night long, started the half with a three, and within a few minutes the Warriors led by seven points. There was a sense that the Warriors were finally playing with urgency. You could see watching Green, Thompson, and Steph Curry, that they were not going to let the team lose this game. Energy from Jonathan Kuminga and Andrew Wiggins backed up that attitude. The Heat had no intention of going away, but every run they made was met by one from the Warriors.

The Dubs stretched the lead to 13 points late in the quarter on a nice sequence featuring a Kevon Looney layup and then a Thompson three, and they took a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter.

That’s the time where we all hold our breath with the Warriors this season, but there would be no drama. Miami fought hard and the game got gritty, with hard fouls, players angry at the refs, and lots of emotion. But the Warriors never broke, and when Curry made a stepback three to make it a 12-point lead with about seven minutes left, it really felt like the Warriors had it in the bag.

They did. That turned out to be near the beginning of a stretch in which the Warriors would hold the Heat scoreless for nearly seven minutes, during which time Golden State thoroughly put the game away. They outscored Miami 60-37 in the second half en route to a 113-92 victory.

That has to feel good.

It was a complete performance by the starters. Thompson led the team with 28 points on 11-for-20 shooting, while Kuminga dropped in 18 points (with 7 rebounds), Wiggins 17 points (with 7 rebounds), and Curry 17 points (with 6 assists). Green had 9 rebounds and 8 assists to go with his phenomenal defense.

The Warriors have limited time to savor the victory, as they’re back in action on Wednesday, visiting the very tough Orlando Magic at 4:00 p.m. PT. A win would give the Dubs a very impressive romp through Florida, and a much-needed boost in the standings with the Houston Rockets making a run behind them.