Golden State blows past Miami 113-92 in the second half thanks to 28 points from Thompson………

Miami (AP) – On Tuesday night, the Golden State Warriors defeated the Miami Heat, who were still lacking in depth, 113-92, thanks to 28 points from Klay Thompson and 18 from Jonathan Kuminga. The Warriors gained momentum in the second half.

Golden State, up two points at the half and up to 22 points in the fourth quarter, was paced by both Andrew Wiggins and Stephen Curry, who each scored 17 points.

Miami, who was without its top scorer Jimmy Butler due to illness, was led by Bam Adebayo’s 24 points. The Heat were also without Duncan Robinson (back) for the fourth straight game, Tyler Herro (foot) for the sixteenth straight game, and Kevin Love (heel) for the fourteenth straight game.

For the Heat, Haywood Highsmith and Terry Rozier each scored fifteen points. Nikola Jovic scored eleven, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored twelve. If Miami doesn’t score more than 103 points, it drops to 2-16.

Thompson scored the most points in his game since February 15 against the Warriors, going 11 for 20 from the field and 6 for 14 on three-pointers.

With two steals for the Warriors, Chris Paul now has 2,600 for his career. In NBA history, he is the third player to achieve the 2,600-steal mark, following Jason Kidd (2,684) and John Stockton (3,265).

In the chase for 10th place in the Western Conference, which is the final play-in slot, the Warriors (37-34) jumped up on idle Houston by a full game. Miami (39–33) was tied with Philadelphia for seventh place in the Eastern Conference, but advanced one slot over the 76ers due to a head-to-head tiebreaker.

In the competition for the sixth and final guaranteed postseason slot in the East, Miami now trails Indiana by 1 1/2 games as a result of the loss.

This season, Miami is now 13-9 when Butler is not in the lineup; the Heat are 26-24 when the six-time All-Star is healthy.

Early in the fourth quarter, Miami was within 87-81; however, Golden State outscored the Heat 26-11 to win the game.