Photo Credit: Rocky Widner via @MiamiHEAT on Twitter

The Miami Heat Defeated the Portland Trail Blazers

The Miami Heat traveled and defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 107-98 on Sunday. This comes after Miami’s home turf win against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Portland came in confidently to the Arena after defeating the Heat just a couple weeks prior, but Miami was lacking star player Jimmy Butler during that March matchup.

Recap

The Trail Blazers started the game with a lot of energy. They performed multiple solid plays in the first half but ultimately fell to turnovers and inconsistent shooting. The first quarter ended with the Blazers leading the scoreboard 31-25, but the Heat picked up the pace in the second quarter. Portland center Jusuf Nurkic was holding the defense together, but the turnovers and consistent Heat scoring were no match. The Heat led 56-48 heading into the break. Unfortunately, Nurkic didn’t return to the court in the second half after a back injury.

Due to the numerous turnovers paired with Miami’s strong defense and occasional scoring, Portland wasn’t able to catch a break, ultimately falling to the Heat.

The Trail Blazers committed 17 turnovers overall.

Notable Players

After missing 16 games this season, Jimmy Butler was back and ready to attack. The Miami forward ended the matchup with 20 points, four rebounds, five assists and four steals.

https://twitter.com/MiamiSofHeat/status/1381464387802783744

Other double-digit star scorers were Bam Adebayo with 22 points and three rebounds, Kendrick Nunn with 15 and three rebounds and Tyler Herro with 14 points and seven rebounds.

The Trail Blazers had some notable players as well. Both CJ McCollum and Norman Powell led Portland in points with 17 each and Damian Lillard ended with 12 points.

Looking Ahead

The Heat is now fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, with a 28-25 record. Miami is set to hit the road to take on the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday at 10 p.m., while the Portland Trail Blazers will go head to head against the Boston Celtics Tuesday at 10 as well.

About Sara Dastgerdi

Sara Dastgerdi is a current student at the University of Florida.

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