|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
GAME FLOW
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Pat Riley was happy to see the Miami Heat were more focused on winning the game than catching their plane.
Brian Grant had 23 points and 14 rebounds as the Heat wrapped up a five-game West Coast road trip with a 93-85 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night.
"At the end of these long trips, sometimes you want to get home before you play the game," the Miami coach said. "I felt we kept our minds on the game and got the win. This is our longest trip, so it was a good way to go back East."
Playing their third game in four nights on their longest road
swing of the season, the Heat rebounded from an 18-point loss at
Seattle on Friday night and won for the eighth time in 11 games.
After stumbling early this year without Alonzo Mourning, the
Heat have begun to find an offensive flow without their big man in
the middle.
"At the end of a trip like this, you've got to find a way to
concentrate on your task," said Eddie Jones, who had 17 points and
eight rebounds before fouling out. "I'd like to get the trips over
with. Those flights beat up your body. But I think we accomplished
a lot on this trip."
Both teams have been plagued by injuries this year, but Miami
needed just seven players to beat Golden State. A.C. Green and Anthony Carter were the only reserves used by Riley, even when
starters Jones and Bruce Bowen fouled out in the fourth quarter.
"Sometimes when you're short-handed, you play that much
harder," Grant said.
Though they put up a decent fight, the Warriors lost their fifth
straight game and remained the Western Conference's worst team at
6-18.
Golden State got within four points in the final minute, but
Grant and Anthony Mason, who had 19 points and eight rebounds while
playing 46 minutes, hit big shots as the Heat held on to finish
their road trip at 3-2.
Tim Hardaway had 12 points and nine assists while moving past
Reggie Theus and John Lucas into 16th place on the NBA's career
assists lists.
Rookie center Marc Jackson scored 26 points -- one shy of his
career-high -- on 12-of-14 shooting for the Warriors, who lost their
fourth straight home game.
Antawn Jamison had 18 points and Larry Hughes 17, but the
Warriors' young stars were just a combined 12-of-32 from the field
and committed 10 turnovers.
"Eventually we will be able to get a couple (of victories),"
Jamison said. "It's frustrating playing against some good teams.
To come that close and lose, it's frustrating."
Even in a relatively easy victory, Miami's defensive weakness in
the middle without Mourning was obvious once again.
One night after Patrick Ewing had 16 points and 10 rebounds
against the Heat, Jackson -- who graduated from Temple in 1997 and
spent the last three seasons playing in Turkey and Spain -- had a
standout game against Grant and Green. But he got just two points
late in the fourth quarter as the Heat pulled away.
"If the team needs me, like in the fourth quarter or when we're
in a slump, I've just got to do more than set screens," Jackson
said.
Injury problems continued for the Warriors. Bob Sura missed his
third straight game with a strained left hamstring, while Adonal
Foyle, Chris Mills, Chris Mullin and Erick Dampier sat out with
lingering injuries.
The Heat have the same problems, with five players on injured
reserve.
Hardaway hit consecutive 3-pointers in the final 38 seconds of
the first half to give Miami a 47-40 lead at halftime.
Game notes
Golden State lost for the eighth time in the last 10
meetings between the clubs, who meet again in Miami in a month. ...
Hardaway, who played for the Warriors from 1989-96, and teamed with Chris Mullin and Mitch Richmond to form the famed "Run T-M-C" trio, got a warm ovation from the Oakland crowd during pregame
introductions. He now has 6,445 career assists. ... Mullin, who was
put on the injured list on Dec. 6 with left knee problems, has
played in just seven of Golden State's 24 games since rejoining the
Warriors before the season.
|
|
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Miami Clubhouse
Golden State Clubhouse
RECAPS
New Jersey 89
Atlanta 83
Charlotte 99
Boston 87
Cleveland 99
Utah 92
Minnesota 113
Indiana 110
Philadelphia 99
Chicago 91
Denver 102
Houston 100
San Antonio 90
Phoenix 82
Miami 93
Golden State 85
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Antawn Jamison Official Site
|
