Inside The Heat

How the Miami Heat Were Able To Secure A Road Win Against the LA Clippers

Alex Toledo|
Nov 3, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Miami Heat guard Norman Powell (24) celebrates at the end of the game against the LA Clippers at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Nov 3, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Miami Heat guard Norman Powell (24) celebrates at the end of the game against the LA Clippers at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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The Miami Heat pulled out a clutch road win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night. Here's what helped propel the team's fourth win of the season:

Night-and-day: Just like the night before against the Lakers, the Heat gave up a 137 offensive rating to the Clippers in the first half. The Clippers converted on about 61 percent of their twos and 44 percent of their threes.

That all changed in the second half when the Heat held the Clippers to a 96 offensive rating, which would rank last in the league, by far. The defensive playmaking was the difference-maker, as the Heat forced the Clippers into 14 turnovers in the second half alone, finishing with a 0.62 assist-to-turnover ratio in the second half with just nine assists after finishing with 16 assists in the first half.

Possession game: In a game that saw them lose the rebound battle by seven and the field goal attempt battle by five, the Heat had to mitigate the possession battle somehow. They did so by, once again, getting to the free throw line more than the other team (five more attempts), and by making life harder on the opposing team's stars as the game went on.

After a first half that saw him rack up six assists without a turnover, James Harden had two assists to seven turnovers in the second half. Kawhi Leonard, meanwhile, shot 36 percent from the field in the second half after converting 60 percent of his shots in the first.

Grinding out an ugly 4th quarter win: After scoring more than 30 points in each quarter beforehand, along with a 134 offensive rating, the Heat's offense ground to a halt, scoring just 17 points in the final quarter on 33 percent shooting from the field and a putrid 70.8 offensive rating.

However, due to the aforementioned suffocating second half defense, (and a 13 point advantage in the third quarter), the Heat were able to hold on with another strong defensive quarter and some timely plays down the stretch.

Despite the rough offense in the fourth quarter, the Heat finished the game with a 118.8 offensive rating, which would rank fifth in the NBA. What makes this even more impressive is that they did this on a night where they barely got out in transition (0th percentile transition frequency percentage, below-average transition offensive ratng). The Heat made 51 percent of their shot attempts in the halfcourt, finishing with an 86th percentile offensive rating there.

The Heat were bolstered by strong performances from Bam Adebayo (25 points on 10-of-18 shooting, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals), Andrew Wiggins (17 points on seven-of-12 shooting, one steal), Davion Mitchell (eight points, five rebounds, nine assists, zero turnovers, three steals) and Norman Powell, who made his return to the lineup after missing three games, dropping 21 points on ten shots against the team he spent the last 3.5 seasons with, along with a steal.

Alexander Toledo is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI and producer/co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast, covering the Heat and NBA. He can be reached at toledoalexander22@gmail.com. Twitter: @tropicalblanket

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Alex Toledo
ALEX TOLEDO

Alex, who was born in Miami, is also a producer, co-host and reporter for the Five on the Floor podcast. He has covered the Heat and NBA since 2019 as a season credential holder. He studied journalism at Florida International University.

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