The Los Angeles Clippers still held a nine-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, but the final four minutes of regulation told the uncomfortable truth surrounding the early season: the Clippers can’t close games.
It didn’t take the Heat much defensive pressure to cause the Clips to drop the ball, literally. Wednesday night marked the fourth outing where L.A. committed at least 20 turnovers.
In a span of 35 seconds, point guard Darius Garland and Derrick Jones Jr. gave the ball away on three consecutive possessions — all after just crossing half-court. Garland was blocked on a drive, then forced a lob pass that was snatched up by Miami. Then on the very next offensive play, Jones was picked off.
Miami converted on all of those errors and cut the lead to one with just more than three minutes to play.
A Los Angeles turnover and missed layup later, the Heat regained a 105-104 edge, their first lead since 9:19 in the second quarter.
The Clippers seem to be in complete control of their game against the Miami Heat on Wednesday night at the Intuit Dome before turnovers and another fourth-quarter collapse opened the door to a Heat victory in overtime. The Clippers have now lost seven in a row since winning on opening night, Oct. 21.
Rui Hachimura was hot early for the Clippers, scoring the team’s first five points, including a three-pointer. Hachimura quickly established himself offensively, getting to 11 points midway through the first quarter.
Miami started pushing back with an aggressive full-court defense, disrupting the Clippers’ offensive rhythm. The Heat capitalized on several careless turnovers by Los Angeles, creating more scoring opportunities and preventing the Clippers from establishing any offensive consistency.
Bam Adebayo and Klay Thompson dropped in three-pointers, helping the Heat take a 33-24 lead after the first quarter.
The Clippers outscored the Heat 43-19 in the second quarter to take a commanding 67-52 lead into halftime. Hachimura led the team with 17 points in that frame alone, while Brook Lopez dominated inside and outside, contributing 12 points.
Miami’s Giannis Antetokounmpo found his scoring touch late in the third, driving downhill to gash L.A.’s interior defense. He finished the night with 27 points, 8 for 20 from the floor, and 11 for 13 from the free throw line.
On the final play of regulation, Hachimura drew a foul driving to the basket with a chance to seal the game for the Clippers. His first free throw doinked out, but he made the second to send the game to overtime.
Five minutes of back-and-forth action came down to one moment: Thompson sank a corner three — his eighth of the night — with 3.3 seconds left to give Miami the win.
The deflating home loss means the Clippers are now tied for the worst record in the league at 1-7.
L.A. will hope to find some answers, starting with ball security, and play a complete game against the New Orleans Pelicans Sunday at the Intuit Dome at 6 p.m.