The Utah Jazz continued their impressive start to the season with an emphatic win over last year’s championship finalists, the Miami Heat. The Jazz defeated the Heat 112-94 on Saturday night. This win means that Utah has lost just one game since Jan. 6. Their record between then and now is an outstanding 18-1.
The win came on a night where the Jazz didn’t even play their best basketball. Guard Donovan Mitchell led the team with 26 points. However, he shot a poor 3-12 from three. Utah as a team shot a dismal 26% from beyond the arc on the night. Forward Bojan Bogdavonic added 19, while star center Rudy Gobert added 16 points and 12 rebounds.
The Jazz also got meaningful production off their bench. Jordan Clarkson finished with 11 points despite an uncharacteristically poor shooting night. George Niang also added an efficient 14 points off the bench for the Jazz.
The Heat’s four-game winning streak came to an end with this loss to the Jazz. After a rough bout with COVID, Heat star Jimmy Butler has yet to regain his top form. His struggles continued tonight, finishing with just 15 points while shooting 30% from the field. Kendrick Nunn led the Heat with 23 points while shooting 53% from the field. Tyler Herro added 12 points off the bench, and Max Strus continued his hot streak with 15 points while shooting 50% from three.
One Reason For The Heat’s Struggles
The Heat have dealt with a slate of issues this season, from injuries to players missing games due to COVID protocols. This has resulted in poor and inconsistent offense—the Heat rank 4th-last in the league in points per game. Plain and simple, Miami has not produced enough points to win games this season. Part of the issue has been Butler being out of the lineup for so many games. He is the heart and soul of the team and, while he doesn’t always score the most points, he is consistently helping to generate opportunities for teammates. The Heat will hope to get back on track with upcoming games against the Clippers and Warriors.
