The Miami Heat's contest against Golden State wasn't supposed to be much of a contest at all. The Warriors rested half their team, including [you know who](https://allucanheat.com/it-s-now-clear-as-day-that-jimmy-butler-isn-t-quite-over-the-heat), and were on the back end of a back-to-back. Throw in the fact that Wednesday also ended a long road trip for the Warriors, and there is a reason why Miami was a heavy favorite.
And yet in the 4th quarter, Miami was trailing. Thankfully, its emerging star took over in the 4th quarter to eventually pull away and avoid one of the most soul-crushing losses of the season.
Miami pulls away from Golden State late
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If you want an idea of what minimal intention Golden State had of actually winning, their own announcers were painting a picture of _"Wow, isn't it neat we aren't losing by 50 points?"_
But Miami continued to shoot itself in the foot with its complete inability to finish at the rim, combined with a complete lack of care for the basketball. In the 1st half, the Heat weren't a complete disaster from three (7-20), but still just shot 39% overall from the field. Combined with nine turnovers and four missed free throws, the high-flying Miami offense had just 49 points at the half.
In particular, Jaime Jaquez Jr. continued his slide back to where most expected him before the season. JJJ was just 2-9 from the field in the first half with two turnovers.
The third quarter might have been even worse as the Heat looked like a bad 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament who simply couldn't make a shot. Miami only turned the ball over twice in the quarter and shot 3-8 from three, but still managed just 23 points total off 30% overall shooting. The Heat just couldn't get Golden State's defense moving to open up the lane, and everything felt like a chore at the rim.
Eventually, Norman Powell decided he had had enough of letting a lineup that would struggle in the G-League hang around. Powell took over with 17 points in the 4th quarter off 7-8 shooting. The Heat also forced nine turnovers in the 4th quarter, and the Golden State Little Engines That Could eventually ran out of steam.
Survive and Advance
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Given that this game felt like a college game at times, maybe it is appropriate that Miami survived and advanced like one would in the NCAA Tournament.
Don't get it twisted: this would have been an abysmal loss for a Miami team that has way more positive momentum than we expected at the start of the season.
The fact that the Heat have a real chance of emerging from this initial 20-game stretch with a winning record, given all the injuries they [have had to face](https://allucanheat.com/tyler-herro-will-have-to-prove-the-critics-wrong-all-over-again), is all that matters.
But also know Miami will need better nights than what they showed Wednesday for the dream to continue.