The Miami Heat knew they had a tough game before them as they entered the Utah Jazz’s Vivint Arena on Saturday night. The Utah Jazz boasted a 21-5 record, best in the league, before the game and that wouldn’t change.
Well, it would change a bit, as they would go on to defeat the Miami Heat in a rather lopsided effort, for the most part. It’s still a funky situation to wrap your mind around though.
That’s for good reason. The Miami Heat had a “sandwich-like” showing that led to them losing this game.
Here’s what we mean.
The Miami Heat were defeated by the Utah Jazz, mainly due to their poor middle of the game.
The Miami Heat started out the game on top of things. In fact, they jumped all over the Utah Jazz.
The first quarter’s final tally wouldn’t reflect the magnitude of the start, as it would only finish 21-18 in favor of Miami, but still in Miami’s favor nonetheless. Then the second and third quarters happened.
The Miami Heat lost those two quarters by a tally of 36-60. They only scored 15 points in the third period and were down 16 in that quarter before they finally scored a basket midway through.
They would finally get things together in the fourth, but by then, it was entirely too late. The Utah Jazz had already built an insurmountable lead, meaning all they had to do was stay even or better.
Well, the Miami Heat actually beat them in the fourth quarter too. That was by a total of 37-34.
If you think this was only because of the blowout nature of the game, then that isn’t necessarily true either. The Miami Heat were winning the fourth period when they waived the white flag.
At the point in the fourth quarter where both teams officially pulled their starters, the Miami Heat were beating the Utah Jazz, 34-31. Go figure, right?
If the Miami Heat don’t have a clunker of a second and third period, a lot to ask we know, then this game is a close one, perhaps? It’s at least somewhat competitive coming down the stretch, one would have to imagine.
Bam Adebayo was a bit more aggressive in this game and the defense was better, but the Miami Heat simply couldn’t hit shots. Their inability to hit shots led to quick or easy looks for Utah, that was the truth in this game.
They have a day off before they face the Clippers on Monday. They should have better results then, especially if Paul George, who’s missed the last few of their games, is still out.