Jimmy Butler had a season-high 33 points to go with 10 rebounds and 8 assists, leading the host Miami Heat to a 124-116 win over the Utah Jazz on Friday night, February 26 (Saturday, February 27, Philippine time).
Donovan Mitchell had 30 points for the Jazz, who have the best record in the NBA (26-7) and are 22-3 since January 8. Mitchell shot 11-for-26, including 2-for-9 on three-pointers.
Miami has won 5 straight games. During the past week, the Heat have beaten the NBA’s two most recent champions: the Toronto Raptors (2019) and the Los Angeles Lakers (2020).
Aside from Butler, the Heat also got 26 points off the bench from Goran Dragic. Heat center Bam Adebayo, who played despite being a game-time decision due to sore knees, had 19 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists.
The Jazz also got 17 points from Bojan Bogdanovic as well as 15 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocks from Rudy Gobert. Mike Conley added 14 points and a team-high 7 assists.
Utah, which trailed early by as many as 6 points, earned its first lead at 27-24 on Jordan Clarkson’s three-pointer with 56 seconds left in the 1st quarter. By the end of the quarter, Utah led 30-26.
Miami surged back and took a 57-53 lead into the break. Butler led all first-half scorers with 14 points, even though neither team managed to shoot better than 45% from the floor during that span.
The Heat, thanks to a 5-0 run at the end of the 3rd quarter, carried a 96-94 advantage into the 4th.
In that 4th quarter, Miami grabbed a 114-107 lead with 6:35 left. Utah mounted a comeback, closing its deficit to 116-115 with 2:30 left, but the Jazz never got over that proverbial hump.
For the game, Miami shot 51.2%, including 14-of-30 on three-pointers (46.7%). Utah shot 42.6%, including 15-for-46 on three-pointers (32.6%).
Utah, which entered the game with the No. 1 rebound differential in the league, was beaten on the boards, 50-36, by Miami. – Rappler.com
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