The Miami Heat walked out of their 140–123 win with a clear message, and Norman Powell delivered it with blunt honesty. The Heat guard torched his former Clippers team for 30 points on 12-of-18 shooting, hit six threes, and spoke openly about their losing streak and their steep slide down the NBA standings. “That’s something for them to have to deal with and handle,” Powell said. “But I’m not worried about them anymore.” He didn’t say it with spite. He said it with clarity — the kind that comes from an offseason trade and a fresh start in with the Heat.
"That's something for them to have to deal with and handle, but I'm not worried about them anymore."
Heat's Norman Powell on his former team, the Clippers early season struggles 🗣
(via @ZachWeinberger) pic.twitter.com/BsazWSiqHz
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 2, 2025
The Clippers needed answers. Instead, they absorbed their fifth straight loss at the hands of the Heat. They have now dropped eight of their last ten and sit 14th in the West. Kawhi Leonard was spectacular with 36 points, but he played uphill all night. James Harden added 11 but finished with a brutal -39. And the team, already eliminated from the NBA Cup, kept slipping in a conference that punishes slow starts. Powell understood that reality better than most. “That’s a lot of stuff they gotta figure out,” he added. “You know, obviously the injuries and things like that.”
Heat punch back while Powell moves forward
The Heat dropped their last outing to the red-hot Detroit Pistons, but Miami answered with a fast, clean, and ruthless performance. Powell’s shooting widened the floor. Bam Adebayo and Davion Mitchell dictated the tempo. The Heat crowd felt the momentum swing every time Powell buried another catch-and-shoot three. Under the arena lights, he looked like a player proving something — not to the Clippers, but to himself.
For Los Angeles, the questions keep getting louder. The rotation needs stability. The defense can’t plug the leaks. And with the Clippers stuck in a brutal losing streak that keeps dragging them down the standings, climbing out of 14th before it locks them into a long uphill fight now looms as their biggest test yet.
And for Norman Powell, the message landed: he’s building something with the Heat now — so what happens when Miami leans even harder into this new spark?
