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The Miami Heat came and left the AT&T Center the same way the last 35 teams have, defeated.
The San Antonio Spurs captured their 36th straight home win with a 112-88 victory over Miami Wednesday night, leaving them just a game shy of matching the record set by the Chicago Bulls in 1995-1996.
All-Star Forward Kawhi Leonard led the night matching career high 32 points, even after leaving the game with 6:01 remaining in the third quarter with a right quad contusion. Leonard went straight to the locker room after being fouled by Justice Winslow on a driving layup.
According to San-Antonio Express News Spurs Beat writer, Tom Orsborn the injury isn’t too serious.
Kawhi's status for Friday vs. Memphis is uncertain. Parker said injury wasn't "that bad" but could cause him to miss a "day or 2." #Spurs
— Tom Orsborn (@tom_orsborn) March 24, 2016
Miami was without forward Chris Bosh (recovering from bloods clots), Forward Luol Deng (sore left quadriceps, and guard Tyler Johnson (left shoulder surgery) in their loss Wednesday night.
Rookie Josh Richardson led the Heat with 17 points on the night, going 3-for-4 from beyond the arc.
#Rook2 pic.twitter.com/ie4CnTpIf9
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) March 24, 2016
Dwayne Wade chipped in with 16 points, grabbing five rebounds with three assists on 8-of-13 shooting.
Still climbing!@DwyaneWade has now moved into 39th place on the @NBA's All-Time scoring list (20,050). pic.twitter.com/SRcF1LDlWy
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) March 24, 2016
Hassan Whiteside was the key for Miami’s offensive rebounds and keeping the ball alive with 12 points and 14 rebounds.
MILESTONE ALERT!
With 4 off rebs tonight @YoungWhiteside has moved into 17th place on Miami's All-Time list (347). pic.twitter.com/Lo8qKKTeKl
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) March 24, 2016
While the difference in numbers of this game don’t jump off the paper, one big key difference here was free throws. San Antonio shot 83% from the line, compared to Miami’s 58%. Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra says although he wasn’t happy about this, he was happy with the team’s overall defense.
Here’s a closer look at the takeaways for Miami:
"This one felt like 10 losses but it's only 1. We will bounce back & prep for the next game like we always do." -Spo pic.twitter.com/V5RcuUET44
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) March 24, 2016
Miami (41-30) is now a half-game behind Atlanta (42-30) for the lead in the Southeast Division.
Next up, the Heat will play host to the Orlando Magic Friday night. The Spurs will look to extend their home win streak against the Memphis Grizzlies Friday night.
