Heat continues winning ways with rare victory in San Antonio over Spurs
San Antonio has not been a fun place for the Heat over the years.
But it sure was fun for Miami on Wednesday, as the Heat held on for a 110-105 win at AT&T Center to begin its challenging four-game trip with an impressive 2-0 record and end the Spurs’ nine-game winning streak. It marked Miami’s fourth-ever regular-season victory in San Antonio.
The Heat entered with just a 3-27 all-time regular-season record in San Antonio, and a 5-31 mark if their Finals matchups are included.
It wasn’t easy, though, with the Spurs rallying from an 18-point deficit to cut the Heat’s lead to three with 1:07 to play behind 9-of-18 shooting from three-point range in the second half. But Dwyane Wade made a timely play, catching DeMar DeRozan off guard and stealing the ball from behind with the Heat ahead by just three and eight seconds to play.
From there, the Spurs intentionally fouled Heat big man Kelly Olynyk, and Olynyk made both free throws to seal the win.
Heat guard Goran Dragic led the way with 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field and 4-of-7 shooting on threes. He’s now 14 of 22 from three-point range over the past three games.
But Dragic received plenty of help. Whether it was 18 points from Dion Waiters, 15 points, five rebounds and four assists from Josh Richardson or six points, 15 rebounds and five assists from Bam Adebayo, there were quality performances from numerous Heat players.
Miami used the 2-3 zone for most of the game, which helped to hold a precise and efficient San Antonio offense to 43.2 percent shooting.
And the Heat did all of this without Justise Winslow (right thigh bruise) and Rodney McGruder (left knee soreness).
Miami’s strong month continues. The Heat is 8-2 in March, and is now an incredible 112-59 in March during Erik Spoelstra’s 11 seasons as head coach.
The Heat remains in the Eastern Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot. No. 8 Miami is 1.5 games ahead of No. 9 Orlando and 3.5 games ahead of No. 10 Charlotte, and just one game behind No. 7 Brooklyn and 1.5 games behind No. 6 Detroit.
The Heat’s reward for defeating the hottest team in the NBA? A Friday matchup with the top team in the East, the Bucks, in the third game of Miami’s four-game trip.
This story was originally published March 20, 2019 at 11:00 PM.
