Poole shines against the Heat, helping the Warriors snap a three-game losing streak.
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During the third quarter of Miami’s defeat to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler and head coach Erik Spoelstra got into a furious verbal argument that had to be broken up by Heat players. It wasn’t even the Heat’s lowest point of the evening. When the final buzzer sounded, the Golden State Warriors’ injury-plagued squad made matters worse for Miami, and Miami’s hold on the Eastern Conference’s top slot became fragile at best.
On Wednesday night, the Warriors upset the Miami Heat 118-104 thanks to Jordan Poole’s 30 points and nine career assists, as well as the Warriors scoring the first 19 points of the second half.
Jordan Poole’s 11th straight game with 20+ points powers the @warriors to victory!
30 PTS | 9 AST (career high) | 7 3PM pic.twitter.com/yU84H18Ah7
— NBA (@NBA) March 24, 2022
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said, “Our competitive shooting and execution at both ends…has been great”.
For the Warriors, Damion Lee, Jonathan Kuminga, and Andrew Wiggins each scored 22 points, while Gary Payton II added 11 points and Kevon Looney had 16 rebounds.
The Warriors were without Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala due to sprained left feet and lower back discomfort, so Draymond Green, Otto Porter Jr., and Klay Thompson were given the night off for injury management.
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Golden State made the choice based on medical reasoning and a desire to reduce injury risk ahead of the playoffs, not because of Tuesday’s disappointing loss in Orlando.
They had gotten their fill.
The Heat, on the other hand, were having issues. Bam Adebayo had 25, Butler had 20, and Duncan Robinson had 13. Kyle Lowry had 26 points, Bam Adebayo had 25, and Duncan Robinson had 13. Miami shook off the Warriors’ tremendous second-half surge – and enormous dust on their bench during a stoppage – to take a fourth-quarter lead, but let the game slip away, cutting its Eastern Conference lead to 1-1/2 games versus Milwaukee and Boston.
To begin the second half, Miami was unable to connect on any of their shots. The Heat appeared to be considering striking each other at that point.
Golden State went on a 19-0 run to start the third quarter, highlighted by Poole’s 3-pointers from 31, 35, and 30 feet, two of which drilled in just beyond the Heat bench to give Miami an even worse start.
And on the Miami bench, tempers rose during a huddle during a stoppage amid this Warriors’ outburst. Butler and Spoelstra had words with each other, and then Butler and Haslem had words with each other, both of whom had to be subdued by their peers.
Miami appeared to be a conduit for the rage.
The Heat rallied on a 19-6 run to trim the deficit to 75-69, held a slim lead of 81-80 going into the fourth quarter, then had a three-point lead early in the fourth.
Golden State was unfazed by anything. Kuminga’s back-to-back layups handed the Warriors the lead they needed to stay in the game. And a 3-point trifecta by Lee, Payton, and Poole put the game out of reach, putting Golden State up 105-95 with 4:21 left to secure one of the league’s most shocking victories.
