Miami Heat vs Los Angeles Clippers Match Player Stats On Nov 05, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Nov 5, 2017

LOS ANGELES -- Hassan Whiteside scored 21 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, and the Miami Heat held off the Los Angeles Clippers 104-101 on Sunday at Staples Center.

The win allowed the Heat (4-5) to snap a four-game losing streak to the Clippers. They also avoided an embarrassing defeat after leading by 25 points in the third quarter.

Tyler Johnson scored 19 points and Wayne Ellington added 17 for the Heat, which had six players reach double figures. Josh Richardson and James Johnson chipped in 14 apiece.

Blake Griffin led the Clippers with 23 points. Lou Williams had 22 off the bench. DeAndre Jordan scored 10 points and collected 19 rebounds for Los Angeles.

The Clippers (5-4), who were playing the second end of a back-to-back after Saturday's loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, have dropped four of their last five after starting the season 4-0.

Two free throws by Johnson gave Miami a 102-101 lead with eight seconds remaining. Griffin failed to convert a jumper with three seconds left before two free throws by Richardson with .09 seconds left capped it for Miami. The Clippers failed to get off another shot.

Los Angeles, which trailed by as many as 25 points in the third quarter, rallied in the fourth. A 27-4 run allowed the Clippers to tie the score at 93 after a three-point play by Jordan with 3:17 remaining. Two foul shots by Griffin gave the Clippers a 95-93 advantage 22 seconds later.

After trading leads, two free throws by Dragic and a dunk by Whiteside lifted Miami to a 100-97 lead. Griffin made a pair of foul shots to cut the advantage to one with 43 seconds remaining before Wesley Johnson's dunk put Los Angeles up 101-100 with 26 seconds left.

A steal by Austin Rivers gave the Clippers a chance to seal the win, but the guard missed two free throws with 17 seconds left.

The Heat prevailed despite playing without guard Dion Waiters, the team's third-leading scorer at 15.9 points per game. Waiters returned to Miami to be on hand for the birth of his daughter.

NOTES: Heat C Hassan Whiteside was on the winning side for only the second time in eight head-to-head meetings with Clippers C DeAndre Jordan. ... Clippers G Patrick Beverley played his 300th game. ... Los Angeles recalled F Brice Johnson from the Agua Caliente Clippers. ... The two clubs will meet again Jan. 8 in Miami. ... The Heat resume their six-game road trip Monday at the Golden State Warriors. ... The Clippers begin a three-game swing at San Antonio on Tuesday. Los Angeles will play eight of its nine contests on the road.