The Heat kept things close the entire game but would fall apart down the stretch as Steph Curry caught fire

First Half:

This game oozed chaotic energy to start as Miami went back and forth with Golden State. It was Jimmy who got things started for Miami in the midrange, the Heat fell behind early as they struggled to guard the three but their high-effort plays would allow them to battle back and keep things close for much of the half.

Bam, Tyler, and Kyle were all active on both ends with Kyle feeding Bam and running the offense like an orchestra (similar to how he did for much of last season). Jimmy was extremely aggressive to start racking up 4 steals, 4 assists, and 9 points in the first quarter alone.

Jovic saw minutes early with Dedmon out, and fit quite well with the core group. Though his shots didn’t fall, he spaced the court well and made smart passes. Duncan Robinson also saw minutes, hitting a three immediately as did his counterpart Max Strus.

The Heat reserves looked solid in the second, momentarily stealing the lead but facing high pressure from the Warrior’s defense. With the starters back in, the quick back-and-forth battle resumed once again with Steph and Draymond doing the most damage to Miami. It didn’t help that Jovic saw himself targeted on defense to stellar results. The Warriors got out to a 13-point lead with less than two minutes to go in the half, but two well-timed threes by Lowry and Jimmy cut it to four on a nine-point run.

Second Half:

Lowry continued his hot three-point shooting into the third extending Miami’s run, unfortunately, on the other end, Klay started to heat up keeping Miami at bay. Still, a well-timed Martin three, multiple defensive stops, a Bam bunny, and Jovic bucket were the perfect recipe for Miami to re-take the lead.

Miami’s lead didn’t last overly long with the back-and-forth battle starting again, but Miami did a great job creating opportunities off turnovers to create an advantage. The Warriors sparked a run towards the end of the third off some great shooting by Curry and others, but Herro and Bam brought Miami back within five to head into the fourth.

Bam and Gabe Vincent delivered on offense to help Miami withstand Jordan Poole suddenly heating up, but still, Miami found itself down eight. With Jimmy resting, Bam really did take matters into how own hands showcasing his impressive shooting touch from the midrange. Led by key buckets from Strus, and Vincent Miami got right back within striking distance.

Curry and Thompson would once again extend the lead for the Warriors, leaving Miami an uphill battle to close out the game. It was Strus, Lowry and Bam who would attempt to answer the call but Curry’s efforts were too much and despite a hard-fought and largely impressive performance overall, the Heat would fall short on the second night of the back-to-back.