MIAMI (AP) — Victor Oladipo finally made his Miami debut, and the Heat ensured it was a memorable one.
Jimmy Butler scored 22 points, Duncan Robinson scored 21 and the Heat held off the Golden State Warriors 116-109 on Thursday night to win their third straight outing and move back over the .500 mark at 25-24.
Tyler Herro scored 20 points, Bam Adebayo had 19, Trevor Ariza added 10 and Andre Iguodala — the 2015 NBA Finals MVP for Golden State — had 10 in the fourth quarter to help seal the win against his former club.
“Buckets started to come easy for all of us,” Herro said.
Stephen Curry finished with 36 points and 11 rebounds for the Warriors, who got 23 from Andrew Wiggins and a 16-point, 10-rebound, eight-assist night from Draymond Green.
Oladipo started and did a little of everything in his first game with the Heat, finishing with six points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals.
The Warriors got off to a cold start, missing 11 of their first 13 shots, and found themselves in the lead after Miami went icy itself later in the opening period. The Warriors never led by more than five, and while the Heat offense was up and down, the defense was a constant.
Golden State’s last lead was with 6:09 left in the third when Curry got a wild jumper to fall while being fouled by Oladipo, the free throw putting the Warriors on top 68-67.
Miami controlled the rest. A 9-0 run in the third quarter created some separation and an 86-75 lead, and when the Warriors got within 88-86 early in the fourth the Heat had one more spurt left.
That one was of the 10-0 variety, with Iguodala pushing the lead to 12 on a dunk with 7:22 remaining.
