In a convincing victory, the Golden State Warriors outperformed the shorthanded Miami Heat with a final score of 113-92. Klay Thompson led the charge with an impressive 28-point performance, while Jonathan Kuminga contributed 18 points to secure the win for the Warriors on Tuesday night.

 

Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins also made significant contributions, scoring 17 points each. The Warriors held a slim two-point lead at halftime but managed to pull away in the second half, establishing a commanding 22-point advantage in the fourth quarter. Despite the absence of their leading scorer, Jimmy Butler, who was sidelined due to illness, the Miami Heat relied on Bam Adebayo’s 24-point effort to keep them in the game. However, the Heat faced additional setbacks with Tyler Herro (foot) missing his 16th consecutive game, Kevin Love (heel) absent for the 14th consecutive game, and Duncan Robinson (back) sitting out for the fourth consecutive game.

 

Haywood Highsmith and Terry Rozier played well for the Heat, scoring 15 points each, while Jaime Jaquez Jr. contributed 12 points and Nikola Jovic added 11. Unfortunately for Miami, their offensive struggles continued, as they dropped to a 2-16 record when scoring less than 103 points. Klay Thompson showcased his shooting prowess, converting 11 of his 20 field goal attempts, including 6 of 14 from beyond the arc. This game marked Thompson’s highest-scoring performance since February 15 for the Warriors.

 

In addition to Thompson’s impressive display, Chris Paul made a notable achievement by recording two steals, bringing his career total to 2,600. He joined the elite company of John Stockton (3,265) and Jason Kidd (2,684) as the only players in NBA history to reach the 2,600-steal milestone.

 

The Warriors (37-34) extended their lead over the idle Houston Rockets in the race for the 10th spot and the final play-in position in the Western Conference. Meanwhile, the Miami Heat (39-33) maintained their seventh-place standing in the Eastern Conference, tied with the Philadelphia 76ers but holding the higher position due to a head-to-head tiebreaker.

 

The loss widened Miami’s gap to 1.5 games behind the Indiana Pacers in the race for the sixth and final guaranteed playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.