Five Takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 118-112 Loss to the Golden State Warriors

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3. Heat Need to Be More Aggressive in Clutch Situations

Goran Dragic Golden State Warriors

The difference between great and good teams is their ability to close out games.

The Warriors are the best team in the NBA, while the Heat are arguably the fourth-best team in the Eastern Conference. Wednesday night was a perfect illustration of why this is the case.

Curry did not re-enter the fourth quarter until there were about five minutes remaining in the game. Despite both teams being within striking distance of one another for the duration of the quarter, Golden State managed just fine as Curry’s teammate, Thompson, carried the scoring load by scoring 15 consecutive points for the Warriors.

Wade received a similar type of rest, as he did not re-enter the game until Curry had re-entered the contest. While the Heat never trailed by more than four points during this stretch, they wasted numerous opportunities by looking hesitant and failing to move the ball around.

This was in stark contrast to how they played throughout the night, when they moved the ball with fluidity.

Both Deng and Dragic were on the court during this stretch and neither looked like he wanted to shoot the basketball. Considering Wade was not even on the court, it’s mind-boggling why this was even an issue.

Whereas Thompson carried the offense with Golden State’s best player on the bench, the Heat looked like a scared team afraid to make a mistake with two veterans leading the offense while Wade was on the bench.

Next: Even Justise Winslow Couldn’t Slow Down Klay Thompson

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D.J. Siddiqi grew up in the heart of South Florida in Broward County. Growing up in South Florida during the late 90's and 2000's, D.J. witnessed the Pat Riley years where the Miami Heat faced off with the New York Knicks all the way to the painful late 2000's seasons where the Heat were a one-man team with Dwyane Wade. D.J. has closely followed the Heat over the past decade-and-a-half, and unfortunately witnessed Game 2 of the 2011 NBA Finals in person when the Dallas Mavericks overcame a 15-point deficit to knock off the Heat. D.J. has writing experience as a columnist with sites such as Bleacher Report and Rant Sports, and he is proud to bring his knowledge of the Heat and the NBA to Heat Nation.