The Miami Heat's two game winning streak is snapped as they lost to the Los Angeles Clippers inside the Kaseya Center, 103-95. This means that Miami has lost five of their last six games at home bringing their total record on their floor to 13-12 on the season.
Jimmy Butler had 21 points in what was a fine day for the star, but lacked the aggressiveness needed for Miami to come back in the game. Terry Rozier also had 17 points. seven rebounds, and five assists, while Bam Adebayo had 14 points and 13 rebounds. Overall, Miami shot 42.2 percent from the field and 27.6 percent from three-point range.
For the Clippers, Kawhi Leonard had 25 points to go with 11 rebounds while James Harden had 21 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds. In total, Los Angeles shot 44.2 percent from the field and 41 percent from beyond the arch.
Here is a look at each half and takeaways from the Heat's loss Sunday night to the Clippers:
First half
The game plan clearly was to get Adebayo involved early as he had six of Miami's first 11 points of the game and collected six rebounds when Los Angeles called their first timeout of the game. It was a solid start for the Heat coming out to a 11-3 start with 8:33 left in the game as they controlled the glass and found the shots they wanted. However, Miami would calm down on offense finishing the period with 22 points as they shot 40 percent from the field and hit two of their six shots from three-point range.
On the other hand, they were exceptional defensively holding the high-powered Clippers to just 19 points as they committed six turnovers. Los Angeles shot 34.8 percent from the field and only hit one of their eight attempts from deep. Still a lot of work to be done as they were up 11 at one point, but lost the early lead.
It was another period in the second where both teams didn't have an explosive 12 minutes leading to a dogfight. But really, it wouldn't have been any other way with these two teams facing against each other. This time around, the Heat shot 42.9 percent from the field while only making two of their nine attempts from deep. It was much better for the Clippers in the second quarter as they made 45 percent of their shots from the field and made six of their 13 attempts from beyond the arch.
Still, it's all tied at 43 a piece at the half as this could lead to whoever gets hot in the second half which could propel the Clippers to come out the gate in that way. Miami will need to keep their stout defense while their stars like Butler, Adebayo, and Rozier contribute on offense.
Second half
Miami sticked around with Los Angeles in the third period despite going down eight points. The Heat's defense would keep the Clippers from scoring in the last 3:21 of the quarter which prevented a huge lead.
While the Heat were down two points going into the final period, it felt as if the Clippers still could be on the brink of an offensive explosion. Los Angeles shot 47.6 percent from the field and hit four of their nine attempts from deep led by Leonard who had 10 points in the period alone.
The fourth quarter was a forgettable outing until the closing moments of the game, but it was too little too late. Miami had countless opportunities throughout the game to gain back the lead, especially when their defense was pretty stout against a high-powered Clippers offense. But once again, the Heat's offense stalls out as the recent trend of Butler's aggressiveness wasn't present.
Heat home stand off to a bad start
While the Heat's four-game home stand is off to a bad start, the possible good news is that it gets easier in terms of competition. Before this game, the Clippers had won 24 of their last 29 games and were arguably the hottest team in the NBA.
They now prepare for a back-to-back that starts Tuesday against the Orlando Magic and ends Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs. Those two teams are very much beatable, especially the latter who only have 10 wins on the season. The difficulty level skyrockets as they end the home stand against the Boston Celtics.
While the Heat could realistically go 2-2 on the home stand, the performance against the Clippers isn't that indicative of the team handling business. But it can't get any worst than their last seven-game losing streak right?
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