Miami Heat fall short in strong effort against Golden State Warriors

Game recap for the Miami Heat’s loss to the Golden State Warriors Monday.

In the absence of Hassan Whiteside, the Miami Heat (22-16) gave a strong effort against an historically good Golden State Warriors (36-2) team. The Heat never quite went away, always nipping at the defending champion’s heels, threatening to bite off a rare road win at Oracle Arena, where the Warriors have won 36 straight.

It was closely contested game in which the Heat’s perimeter defense was on fleek. Justise Winslow battled over screens, Goran Dragic and Dwyane Wade turned in eager performances and Chris Bosh darted back and forth in help defense to help limit the Warriors’ acclaimed 3-point shooting to just 30.4 percent.

The Heat almost got this one. They brought it to within three points to begin the fourth quarter down 77-80. Just then, Marreese Speights came off a deep Warriors bench and scored six quick points to extend Golden State’s lead to to seven, which eventually ballooned to 11. The Heat kept coming back, even bringing to to within six points with 45 seconds left. It was just too little against a deep Warriors team that got big time efforts off its bench–Andre Iguodala with nine points, Harrison Barnes with 12 points and six rebounds and Shaun Livingston with two points, four rebounds and six assists.

It was a very strong effort from the Heat, who were missing center Whiteside–not to mention that Dwyane Wade was a game-time decision with a right shoulder injury, as was key reserve guard Tyler Johnson–but still played top notch defense against one of the more powerful teams in the NBA.

You would think on a night when the Heat shot better from beyond the arc (36.8 percent) than the Warriors, they would win. The Warriors, however, aren’t just a jump shooting team. There is a lot of good to take away from this narrow loss.

Three stars

Chris Bosh was sublime, hustling on defense and facilitating from the post for much of the game. He finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. He did, however, commit four turnovers, losing his dribble a few times.

Dwyane Wade was Miami’s leading scorer with 20 points and had a Heat season high 11 assists. He was everything Miami needed him to be. Aggressive when he had to. Penetrating a tough Warriors defense and kicking out to shooters at improbable angles to counter Golden State’s fast twitch defense and get his teammates open shots.

Shouts to Justise Winslow, who made his first career start and was a big part of Miami’s stifling perimeter defense. He guarded everyone from Stephen Curry to Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes. He also finished with seven points, three rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block.

Highlights

Up next

The Miami Heat travel to Southern California to take on the Los Angeles Clippers at 10:30 PM ET Wednesday on ESPN.