Curry and Co. rally past Heat in overtime
SAN FRANCISCO — Stephen Curry’s supporting cast knew he would eventually break out.
Curry hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:15 left in overtime, found Andrew Wiggins for another the next time down before delivering a final dagger from deep, rallying the Golden State Warriors to a 120-112 victory over the Miami Heat on Wednesday night.
“Everything was in rhythm for Steph. Percentages always catch up for him,” Warriors forward Kent Bazemore said. “We just stayed with it, which is good on him, just staying with it and keep letting it fly. He was huge for us late there.”
Bazemore tipped in Wiggins’ miss with 1:32 left for one of his two big baskets in OT and finished with a season-high 26 points — his second 20-point performance this season.
Curry scored 25 points and overcame an off shooting night by finding his stroke when it mattered most. He added 11 assists and seven rebounds.
“It’s just a testament to who he is,” Bazemore said. “When you’ve got a guy like that who believes in you and instills that confidence in you, you believe you can do anything.”
Jimmy Butler had his second straight triple-double with 13 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for the Heat, who never trailed in regulation.
Curry’s 3 with 2:26 left in regulation cut it to 103-101 and he stole the ball from Butler on the other end moments later. Bazemore made consecutive baskets to tie it with 52 seconds remaining. Kelly Oubre Jr. missed a 3 for the win.
“The last few minutes of the fourth we were just scrambling out there and I thought Baze kind of led the charge. He really made some huge plays for us and kept us in it,” coach Steve Kerr said. “Then of course Steph, this is so typical of Steph, he’s just the kind of player and the kind of person who can be in the midst of one of his worst shooting nights of the year and still hit three enormous shots to help us win the game.”
Kendrick Nunn scored 19 points for Miami, which was coming off a 125-118 loss at the Clippers on Monday night.
Golden State started with a 13-3 burst out of halftime to make it a game again after falling behind 61-46 at the break.
Wiggins wound up with 23 points as Curry mostly struggled.
Curry was 3 for 11 in the first half, missing eight of his nine 3-point tries. He finished 5 of 20 from long range as Golden State went 18 for 52 and got outrebounded 50-45.
“Once it got close and it became a possession game, that’s when Curry came alive,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Draymond Green was a late scratch by the Warriors because of right ankle soreness.