Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga (00) takes a shot against Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) at the FTX Center in Miami on Wed Mar 23, 2022 (AP News photo)
Golden State Finishes Off Heat 118-104
By Barbara Mason
Tuesday the Warriors suffered their toughest loss yet this year. The Orlando Magic handled them 94-90 earning their 20th win this year. It was a disaster from start to the finish for Golden State. The team played soft and sloppy and quite frankly stupid for their third straight loss.
Wednesday night the Warriors (48-25) were back on the court against the Miami Heat (47-26) who are in first place in the Eastern Conference. The Warriors were without Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Otto Porter Jr. It will up to the young guys to take on the likes of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Kyle Lowry. The Heat are the best three point shooting team in the league right now. The Warriors were able to beat them back with a 118-104 win to snap a three game losing streak
The Warriors have not finished a game in their last three outings. They have been awful in the final quarter of those games. They had 17 turnovers in Tuesday’s game and far too many fouls.
Starting in Wednesday’s game for Golden State will be Jonathan Kuminga, Kevon Looney, Jordan Poole, Moses Moody and Andrew Wiggins.
After falling behind by ten points in the first quarter the Warriors would fight back to tie this game up at 23 as the quarter ended. Golden State was still struggling in shots from beyond the arc making 1 of 10 but they came up with some nice defense holding the Heat to 35% shooting. Miami had 0 points in the final four plus minutes. This was a definite win for the Warriors so far in this game.
It was a crazy start in the third quarter for Golden State. They went on a 19-0 run leading 69-50 after seven minutes of play. Kuminga already had four fouls and was benched until the fourth. They had to keep him available.
As soon as Kuminga left the game the tide began to turn a bit. The 19 point Warrior lead was trimmed to eight and here came the Heat with two minutes left in the quarter. The Heat shot 26-10 after Kuminga left the game but trailed after three 81-80. The Warriors had out rebounded the much bigger Heat 34-29.
The Warriors are plus 22 when Kuminga is in the game. Both Kuminga and Bjelica started the fourth quarter, both with four fouls.
In the fourth quarter Jonathan Kuminga fouled out of the game on a play against Butler that from all appearances should have been a no call. It was a tough loss for Golden State but the Warriors continued to hang onto a 105-95 lead with 4:21 left in the game.
It was crunch time for the Warriors. Throughout this game especially in the second half the Heat players and coaches were venting their frustration at each other. The Warriors had them totally rattled and for good reason as the young guys took care of the Miami Heat 118-104.
It yet another 20 plus point game for Poole with 30 points. Kuminga, Damien Lee and Wiggins each had 22 points. So last night the Warriors suffered their worst loss this season and tonight Golden State celebrated their craziest win this season. It was an incredible effort by the Warriors.
“It feels great to win. We stuck it out and kept fighting,” said Lee after the game. “We knew we had to bring the fight. JP had a hell of a game. Whenever my number is called I have to be ready,” he said. Not only was Lee ready but the entire team contributed to this win with energy, execution and effort. This game is a good reminder of just how deep this team is.
The Warriors handled the bigger Heat players despite physical mismatches. When the Miami defense began to collapse in the fourth quarter the Warriors had the Heat right where they wanted them.
Friday night the Warriors will play the Atlanta Hawks still on the road. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 PM PT.