Heat use flurry of 3s to shoot down Warriors
Jae Crowder made three 3-pointers in a 16-0, second-quarter flurry Monday night that allowed the visiting Miami Heat to build a big lead en route to a 113-101 victory over the Golden State Warriors.
Jimmy Butler returned from a two-game absence with 21 points, tying Crowder for team-high scoring honors, as the Heat won for the first time in four outings on their five-game Western swing.
Three-time NBA champion Andre Iguodala contributed two points and a plus-25 plus/minus rating in 17 minutes for the Heat after injured Warriors star Stephen Curry took the microphone and welcomed his former teammate back in a crowd-pleasing pregame ceremony.
Damion Lee scored a career-high 26 points for the Warriors, who lost their third straight.
Golden State only trailed 29-27 early in the second quarter before Crowder hit consecutive 3-pointers to trigger the Heat's big run. Duncan Robinson and Crowder added subsequent 3s in the burst, which opened a 45-27 advantage with 7:37 remaining in the half.
The Heat went on to lead by as many as 24 points before the Warriors rallied within 73-69 on three free throws by Lee late in the third period.
But Goran Dragic and Butler countered with hoops, helping Miami build an 83-75 advantage by the end of the quarter, and Golden State got no closer than seven in the fourth period.
Crowder, acquired with Iguodala from the Memphis Grizzlies last week, finished with four 3-pointers and 6-for-11 shooting overall.
Butler, who suffered a shoulder injury in Los Angeles on the first game of the Heat's trip last week, took the second night of a back-to-back as an opportunity to return, and was able to complement his 21 points with 10 rebounds.
Robinson added five 3-pointers and 17 points, and Dragic scored 15 points, while Kelly Olynyk (12 points, game-high 11 assists) and Bam Adebayo (13 points, game-high 11 rebounds) recorded double-doubles.
The Heat outshot the Warriors 49.4 percent to 39.0.
Lee's previous career scoring high had been 23 points. The former two-way player connected on five of his seven 3-point attempts to account for a majority of his points.
Andrew Wiggins totaled 18 points in his second game for the Warriors, while Marquese Chriss had 17 to go with nine rebounds, Jordan Poole had 12 points, and Draymond Green collected five points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
--Field Level Media
