Jimmy Butler leads Miami Heat Heat past Golden State Warriors despite Stephen Curry's big second half

Kane Pitman

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Jimmy Butler leads Miami Heat Heat past Golden State Warriors despite Stephen Curry's big second half image

A balanced scoring effort from the Miami Heat helped them hold off Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors for the 116-109.

Six Miami players finished with double-digit points led by Jimmy Butler's all-round performance with 22 points, eight assists, six rebounds, and four steals, countering a 36-point outburst from Curry.

The win lifted Miami above .500 at 25-24 on the season, just one game back in the loss column of the Charlotte Hornets in the four seed as the battle for home court in the first round of the postseason heats up in the East.

Steph's tailbone concern

In his second game back from a tailbone injury, Curry got off to a slow start, seemingly struggling with lingering soreness.

Taking an early spill, Curry battled through soreness to tally just 10 points in the first half. In Typical fashion, the floodgates opened in the second half, with the two-time MVP finishing the night with 36 points to go along with 11 rebounds on 5-for-11 shooting from three.

“There’s no feeling that he could hurt it worse, so that’s why he’s playing," head coach Steve Kerr said postgame.

Curry is without doubt playing through pain, though he does have 68 points across his first two games back so I guess the tailbone soreness isn't enough to slow Steph down.

Oladipo's Miami debut

One of the big names to move at the trade deadline, Victor Oladipo slotted straight into the Miami starting lineup in his first appearance with the franchise.

Playing 23 minutes, Oladipo finished with six points, three rebounds and five assists on 2-for-8 shooting from the floor.

Wiggins hot night from the outside

A questionable shooter over the course of his career, Wiggins poured in 18 points on 5-for-8 shooting from beyond the arc in the first half. 

The 26-year-old would cool off in the second half to finish with 23 points on 5-for-11 from 3-point land but it was another promising performance from the score first guard.

A 34 percent shooter from the outside over his career, Wiggins in 35-for-65 (53.8 percent) since the All-Star break.

What's next?

Golden State head straight from Miami to Tampa for a matchup with the Raptors on a back-to-back, while Miami have a night off before hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers.

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Kane Pitman

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