Heat On Fire

The Los Angeles Clippers are proving a right anomaly this season. Normally one of the championship contenders; they are languishing near the bottom of the Western Conference this season with a lowly 5-16 record. They still have the players; but gone is the venerable team chemistry; and no one seems to fear them anymore. The Miami Heat on the other hand; are the exact opposite. Not talked about much in pre-season; but even with the absence of All-Star Tyler Herro; they have stunned all & sundry with their electric offensive play & stifling defense.

And this contest was more or less about that. The Heat; not essentially a high three-point shooting team; went off the charts in this one; hitting an unbelievable 52.2%; on their way to tying a franchise-record 24 three-pointers. Simply put; the Clippers simply had no answers for this one. They did try their best however; coming back from a near 40-point deficit to make it slightly competitive in the 4th quarter; but in the end it was too little; too late for Tyronn Lue's men.

Norman Powell; sacrificed by the Clippers for wage space for their star men Kawhi Leonard & James Harden; seemed like a man on a mission; running up 30 points on a sparkling offensive performance; while hitting several eye-catching long-range shots for good measure. He was aided & abetted by accomplice Herro; who is intent on proving that the Heat are an even better team with him in the line-up. For the Clips; it is back to square one. No doubt they will take heart from the fight-back; but the fact is they still seem a little too Iso when Harden is in the team; and even with Leonard firing on all cylinders in the second half; it was not quite enough.