Miami Heat Hold Off Clippers For Third Straight Victory

The Miami Heat once again blew a big lead in the fourth quarter.

But at least they finished with another victory. The Heat led by many as 23 in the third quarter before holding onto a 121-114 victory Friday against the Los Angeles Clippers at FTX Arena.

Jimmy Butler led the way with 26 points.

“There was definitely some sloppy play once we got up 20," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "It started with a turnover and then led to transition and a bunch of fouls. A bunch of fouls and a bunch of turnovers and they crawled right back in the game. Look, you also have to really give the Clippers credit. I think Ty has really done an amazing job with that group with the adversity they have. It’s a hard-playing, competitive group. They do not stop. We knew that going into it. Didn’t matter what the complexion of the game would be.

It was the third straight victory for the Heat. It also snapped a six-game losing streak to the Clippers.

Spoelstra said he would rather focus on the Heat hanging on for the win than blowing another big late lead.

"This would have to be earned all the way to the last second," Spoelstra said. "That proved to be true. There’s definitely some things we can clean up in terms of the fouling and the turnovers versus pressure. Again, I just think these experiences for our ball club are really important to go through. The guys hearts are in the right place. From our perspective, we didn’t feel like we played well once we had that lead. But again, you have to credit the other side for a lot of that.”

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