Finding their mission after intermission
WARRIORS 123, HEAT 95
MIAMI — The best antidote to the Warriors’ ills is halftime. After discussing their first-half mistakes in the locker room, they trot back onto the floor and often unleash their collective powers: the switch-heavy defense, the cast of AllStars, the deep bench, the rapid tempo, the parade of passes.
The Heat were the latest team to learn firsthand that inspiration can only go so far when Golden State settles into a third-quarter groove. After a porous first half Sunday night at American Airlines Arena, the Warriors spread the court, passed the ball with such speed that defenders were helplessly scrambled and, ultimately, raced away with a 123-95 rout.
“As much as any team in the league, when they smell blood, they go for it, right then and there,” Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “So many of their guys just come alive when they start to get it rolling.”
His team nursing a 62-60 lead at halftime, Golden State head coach Steve Kerr calmly told his players to put hands on shooters along the perimeter. A Heat team known for muddying up the pace had made nine threepointers to hang with the up-tempo Warriors.
It was a simple note that helped pave the way for one of Golden State’s most memorable thirdquarter blitzes to date:The Warriors outscored Miami 37-17 to eradicate any doubt by the start of the fourth quarter.
Golden State shot 15for-21 from the field, including 5-for-9 from three-point range, in the third. Without starting center Hassan Whiteside (left knee bone bruise), the Heat committed five turnovers, missed 11 shots and totaled six fewer points than Kevin Durant (13) and Stephen Curry (10) combined to score.
Fans were filing toward the exits by the time rookie Jordan Bell threw down an alley-oop dunk off a lob from Durant to put Golden State up 96-74 with 33 seconds left in the third. The Warriors’ lead eventually ballooned to 33 points as they outscored Miami by 26 in the second half. After pouring in 30 points in the game’s first 28½ minutes, Curry didn’t need to score the rest of the way.
“We gave ourselves a lot of momentum,” said Curry, who no longer appears bothered by the right-hand contusion that has impaired him the past week. “That’s what you need on the road against a scrappy Miami team.”
Added Spoelstra: “Once we started to break down from a competitive standpoint, then it was just a snowball running down a hill and they do what they do.”
As one of the most loaded teams in NBA history, Golden State realizes it can blow opponents out any given night. Balancing that self-assuredness with an awareness that they’re not invincible has been more important than any opponent the Warriors have faced this season.
Golden State has a knack for bringing out the best in teams — for the first half, at least. Intermission offers the Warriors a chance to collect their thoughts, review where they’ve gone wrong and return to their free-flowing, movement-heavy blueprint. After its halftime conversation Sunday, Golden State opened the third quarter on an 18-3 run to seize an 80-63 lead.
It was nothing new for a club that made such rallies a big part of their two NBA-title runs in three years.
The Warriors were easily the league’s best third-quarter team last season, outscoring opponents by a combined 477 points. The Spurs were second at plus-249.
Through 24 third quarters this season, Golden State has outscored teams by a combined 160 points. Boston is the next closest at plus-118. The Warriors have outscored opponents by more points in the third than they have in the other quarters combined.
“I like that pattern,” said Kerr, whose team has won its past two games by a combined 49 points. “Come out in the third quarter, make some defensive stops and establish our defense, then get on a little run offensively. It’s been working for us.” Connor Letourneau is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cletourneau @sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Con_Chron