Giannis Antetokounmpo had 30 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Miami Heat to a 115-109 victory over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night in Salt Lake City.
Davion Mitchell had 19 points and eight assists to help the Heat close out a five-game road trip with back-to-back wins. Andrew Wiggins added 13 points off the bench. Bam Adebayo chipped in 11 points, eight boards and four steals.
Miami scored 25 points off 18 Jazz turnovers. Utah attacked the rim well, outscoring the Heat 50-32 in the paint.
Rookie guard Darryn Peterson led Utah with 25 points and four assists before fouling out with 4:35 remaining. Ace Bailey chipped in 23 points and seven rebounds. Isaiah Collier added 17 points for the Jazz, including 15 in the fourth quarter, and five assists.
Utah suffered a ninth straight loss and has not held an opponent under 110 points this season.
Playing without three starters, the Jazz went up 12-8 on a steal and layup from Jaxson Hayes. The Heat then scored on six straight possessions to race ahead for good. Klay Thompson and Bobby Portis Jr. bookended the 14-2 run with 3-pointers to give Miami a 22-14 lead midway through the first quarter.
Miami used a 13-1 run capped by a 3-pointer from Pelle Larsson to extend its lead to 49-32 early in the second quarter. The Heat held Utah without a basket for three minutes while building a double-digit lead.
Utah briefly rallied after halftime, cutting the deficit to 67-60 on Bailey’s driving floater.
The Heat allowed only three baskets over a 5½-minute stretch to pull away again. Starting with banking in a turnaround jumper, Antetokounmpo made four baskets to fuel a 22-6 run that put Miami up 89-66 late in the third quarter.
Collier drilled three straight 3-pointers to punctuate a 21-6 run that cut the Heat’s lead to 101-93 with 6:42 left in the game. Antetokounmpo scored three baskets over a two-minute stretch to restore the double-digit lead and create enough cushion to weather a late comeback.
