MIAMI — The Warriors had to do more with less in Wednesday night’s 118-104 win over the Miami Heat at FTX Arena.
Already without star Stephen Curry, Golden State played the Eastern Conference’s top seed without Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Otto Porter Jr., who were all ruled out before the game for injury management.
“These decisions are based on process, not on the results of the previous night’s game,” coach Steve Kerr said before the victory, which snapped a three-game losing streak. “We are just following the process and it’s important that we keep these guys healthy with the playoffs coming up. So just making the wise decision.”
But the absence of the team’s biggest stars appeared not to be a problem for the Warriors, who played with a sense of urgency not seen in recent games.
Led by Jordan Poole and — believe it or not — Andrew Wiggins, the Warriors opened the second half with a 19-0 run, their largest run of the season.
Poole hit three consecutive 3-pointers that the Heat couldn’t answer for, and Wiggins appeared to find his offensive rhythm after a dreary first half during which he scored only two points on 1-of-5 shooting.
Poole finished with 30 points on 10-of-18 shooting in 39 minutes.
This marks Poole’s 11th consecutive game in which he’s scored 20 or more points.
Poole, who also had a career-high nine assists, has by far been the Warriors' most impressive player this month. His confidence and development as a leader and reliable scorer has impressed Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.
“It’s been exponential,” Spoelstra said of Poole’s growth this season. “I love seeing those kinds of stories, players that weren’t necessarily blue chippers or lottery picks, it just shows you that really good players can take a lot of different paths to get to this point.”
Wiggins scored 12 of his 22 points in the third quarter, and rookie Jonathan Kuminga, who earned his ninth start this season, had 22 points.
But Golden State’s 19-point lead disintegrated by the end of the third quarter. After Kyle Lowry hit two 3-pointers in the final two minutes to pull the Heat within one heading into the fourth quarter.
Despite going 3 for 19 from the perimeter in the first half, the Warriors managed to stay in the game by scoring 24 points in the paint and limiting the Heat to just 16.
The Warriors’ bench outscored the Heat’s 42-13, with Damion Lee recording a career-high 22 points and Gary Payton II adding 11.
The Warriors (48-25) remain in third place of the Western Conference, sitting three games ahead of the fourth-place Utah Jazz and three-and-a-half games in front of the fifth-place Dallas Mavericks.
The Warriors are scheduled to practice Thursday before heading to Atlanta, where they’ll play the Hawks Thursday for their third game of the five-game road trip.
Players like Poole say they don’t monitor the playoff seeding especially down the stretch. Meanwhile, Kerr said he’s keeping a close eye on what’s happening.
“I’m watching it every day,” Kerr recently said. “I look at the scores and look at the schedules and for sure I’m aware of what’s happening [but] a number one concern and goal is to help our team play at the best of our potential.”
