Heat win big to continue Grizzlies’ misery
Andrew Wiggins poured in 28 points and Norman Powell 25 as the host Miami Heat defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 136-120 on Saturday night.
The Heat, who improved to 17-11 at home, also got 14 points and a game-high-tying six assists from Tyler Herro, who played just his second game since missing more than one month due to three fractured ribs.
Bam Adebayo, second on the Heat in total points this season, was quiet. He had 13 points, five under his average. He had just six points through three quarters.
Miami was without starting point guard Davion Mitchell (illness). Forward Nikola Jovic (back) was also out.
Memphis was led by GG Jackson, who scored a season-high 28 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Jaylen Wells added 25 points, but the Grizzlies have now lost 11 of their last 14 games. The Grizzlies are also 9-18 on the road.
Grizzlies rookie guard Walter Clayton Jr., who led the University of Florida to a national title last year, made his first NBA start. He scored nine points and had a game-high-tying six assists before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
Taylor Hendricks, another Memphis player with Florida ties, made his first start of the season and scored four points in 24 minutes. He is from Fort Lauderdale and played his college ball at UCF.
The Grizzlies, who have used 25 players this season -- only the Bulls have used more -- were without injured stars Ja Morant (elbow) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (finger).
Miami, thanks in part to Wiggins' 12 points, led 39-33 after the first quarter. Jackson had 11 points for Memphis, and both teams shot over 54% from the floor.
Adebayo went scoreless in the first quarter, taking zero shots.
Memphis cut its deficit slightly, trailing 73-68 at halftime as both teams again shot better than 54%.
In the third, Miami stretched its advantage to 112-94. Memphis finally cooled off in the third, shooting just 40.9% as compared to 60.9% for Miami.
The Heat cruised in the fourth quarter, although brief skirmish broke out with 1:55 left. It started when Miami's Myron Gardner pushed Scotty Pippen Jr. to the ground from behind. On the next possession, Pippen shoved back, and both players were ejected.
For the game, Miami had advantages in rebounds (57-35) and paint points (70-54).