5 takeaways from the Miami Heat’s win against the Utah Jazz

On the second night of a back to back, the Miami Heat beat the Utah Jazz 111-110 to earn their second-straight win.

1. Winning back-to-back games in Denver and Utah is no easy feat

Let’s recap what the Miami Heat just accomplished:

They won two games on consecutive nights, both of which were played in high altitude. As if that wasn’t enough, they were without Josh Richardson, Dion Waiters and Justise Winslow in the first game. To further complicate matters, Derrick Williams missed the game against the Jazz due to back spasms. Oh, and starter Luke Babbitt could only muster seven minutes after sustaining a hip injury.

So, with eight healthy players, the Heat scored 111 points against one of the best defenses in the NBA. And they did just enough defensively to squeak out a one-point win. It was quite an impressive performance for a team that could have easily called it quits tonight.

2. James Johnson had a career-best performance

Despite how disappointing Babbitt and Williams have been this season, James Johnson has been a revelation for Miami. He’s playing the best basketball of his career, and that continued tonight.

Johnson scored 24 points on 11-for-15 shooting, while pulling down six rebounds, and dishing out three assists. He had never made 11 field goals in a game before tonight (via Tim Reynolds). Johnson also added in a block and a steal for good measure. His most important basket came with under two minutes left, and Miami leading by one:

https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/804539548453584896

“Wow,” is right. Those would be the final two points the Heat would score on the night, but it was enough to earn the win.

3. Goran Dragic’s 14 fourth quarter points were huge

“The Dragon” has been on a tear since returning from his elbow injury. Over the past three games, he’s averaged 23 points and 10 assists. In that same span, he’s had just three turnovers. No, not three turnovers per game. Three turnovers, total. Remarkable, especially considering how often Dragic has the ball in his hands.

Tonight, with the game hanging in the balance during the fourth period, the Slovenian point guard was at his best. He made two three-pointers, got to the basket (and the free-throw line), and had an answer for every big shot made by Utah’s Gordon Hayward. Goes without saying, the Heat would have lost handily without him.

After the game, just to top things off, Dragic posted a team picture from the plane, with a nice message to his injured teammates:

Dominating on the court and off the court. Goran Dragic is certainly earning his paycheck.

4. Miami struggled to defend the three-point line, and it could have cost them the game

Miami’s defense is one of the best in the NBA, ranking top three in defensive rating. Part of the reason why is because they allow a league-low eight three-pointers per game. Further, the Heat only let opposing teams shoot an average of 22 three-pointers nightly, which is also the lowest total in the league.

Tonight, the Utah Jazz, who are not a great three-point shooting club by any means, went crazy from deep, making 17-of-30 attempts. Former Heat player Joe Johnson made four, Gordon Hayward made three, and Trey Lyles (who is shooting 27 percent from deep this season), added in four of his own. It was a great shooting performance to be sure, but a lot of these looks were wide open.

However, I still find it hard to blame the Heat for the lack of effort defensively. Yes, they did a poor job of running opposing players off the three-point line. But as we established earlier, it was the second night of a back-to-back. And both games were played in high altitudes, which only made it that much harder on the players. Whiteside mentioned how exhausted he was after the game:

What grit showed by Miami to survive that three-point barrage and come out with a big road win. The Heat are growing as a team right before our eyes, and seem to be learning from mistakes previously made in close games.

5. Gordon Hayward went off

Utah’s small forward scored 32 points on 12-for-22 shooting, with three rebounds, seven assists and two steals. He did a great job shouldering the load left behind by teammates George Hill and Rodney Hood, both of whom missed tonight’s game with injury. Gordon Hayward is a free agent after this season. Was he using tonight’s game as a try-out for Pat Riley? No.

Next up for the Miami Heat, a trip to the Moda Center to face Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum and the rest of the Portland Trail Blazers. Game tips off at 10 PM.