Heat load up on 3s early, hold off Clippers late in 140-123 victory to move to 14-7

MIAMI — Erik Spoelstra began the night by attempting to cast the matchup as a study in intestinal fortitude, the Los Angeles Clippers with losses in 13 of their previous 15, his Heat coming off a physical loss to the Detroit Pistons.

“You have two opposing forces,” a stoic Spoelstra said. “That’s competition and who’s going to get to who.”

Um, yeah, or you could just make a whole bunch of 3-pointers early, push the lead to 38 and hold on from there for a 140-123 victory.

So with those 3s, plus three runaway quarters, now a 14-7 record after concluding a 3-1 homestand by holding off a late Clippers rally.

In a league where Spoelstra often stresses nothing comes easy, this for most of the night came close, with the Heat closing 24 of 46 on 3-pointers, tying the franchise record for 3-point conversions.

“I thought we took the right shots,” Spoelstra said. “It always helps if it goes down.”

So 27 points and 14 rebounds from Bam Adebayo (who converted five 3-pointers), 30 points from Norman Powell (who had six 3-pointers), 22 from Andrew Wiggins (two 3-pointers), 22 from Tyler Herro (four 3-pointers) and 16 from Davion Mitchell (four 3-pointers).

All the while as the Heat also closed with a season-high 10 blocked shots, not taking that side of the court for granted.

“It was about us trying to respond,” Spoelstra said. “If we want to be a great team, you have to handle your business at home.”

About the only sign of life for the Clippers came from Kawhi Leonard, who closed with 36 points, fueling a too-little, too-late rally.

Five Degrees of Heat from Monday night’s game:

1. Game flow: The Heat led 35-24 after the first period, after building an early 14-point lead.

“I love what the starters brough from an energy standpoint,” Spoelstra said.

The Heat then lost all of that lead in the second period, before putting together a 30-2 run over a stretch of 5:25 to move to a 26-point lead and then a 76-56 halftime edge.

The Clippers then pulled all five starters 1:26 into the second half, when down 85-56, with the Heat taking a 114-82 lead into the fourth.

From there, Leonard attempted to rally the Clippers from what ultimately was too deep of a hole, scoring 19 in the fourth.

2. A 3-for-all: It was nothing short of a 3-for-all for the Heat in the first half, shooting 14 of 21 from beyond the arc. The 14 3-pointers were just two fewer than total baskets by the Clippers over the opening two periods.

With the Clippers 3 of 15 on 3-pointers, it had the Heat with a 42-9 scoring advantage from beyond the arc in the first half.

Mitchell and Powell each had three first-half 3-pointers for the Heat, with two apiece from Adebayo and Herro.

“I think it’s also important to read the game,” Spoelstra said of the Heat taking the open 3-pointers when offered.

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3. (Almost) All in: Every player on the roster, other than Terry Rozier and Keshad Johnson were available for the Heat, with Jaime Jaquez Jr. back from his groin strain and Kasparas Jakucionis back from the G League.

That had Jaquez back in his familiar role as sixth man, after missing his first game of the season, on Saturday night against the Pistons.

Johnson was sidelined by an illness, with Rozier on a NBA-enforced leave amid the FBI gambling investigation.

Two-way players Vlad Goldin and Jahmir Young were inactive and in street clothes, as a means of saving the NBA days each is eligible for this season.

4. And then…: Because good fortune comes in limited doses for the Heat, second-year guard Pelle Larsson was lost for the night at halftime with a sprained right foot.

That had Larsson closing with five points, two assists and one rebound in eight minutes.

“It’s a sprained foot,” Spoelstra said. “He says he’ll be all right. Don’t we all say that?”

With Larsson limited, it allowed for a return to the rotation by forward Simone Fontecchio, who had been held out of Saturday night’s loss against his former team.

All the while, Nikola Jovic again was out of the rotation for the second time in three games, having been held out of last Wednesday’s victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.

5. Onward: Up next for the Heat is a two-game trip, Wednesday night against the Dallas Mavericks and Friday night against the Orlando Magic.

The game against the Magic is the first in Orlando over a four-day period, with the Heat returning to Kia Center next Tuesday for an NBA Cup quarterfinal.