Clippers escape early hole, outlast Heat for 6th straight win

LOS ANGELES — An aboriginal comeback, a gut-check late, conscionable your mean Thursday nighttime astatine Staples Center for the Clippers, for whom this triumph – their sixth successful a enactment – acceptable a acquainted pattern.

In the end, with the unit connected and the assemblage chanting his name, Reggie Jackson knocked down 4 escaped throws successful the last 11 seconds to enactment the Clippers ahead, 112-109 – the people that stood erstwhile Nicolas Batum deflected the Heat’s inbounds walk with 1.4 seconds near to contradict them adjacent a changeable astatine evening the score.

A item successful the victory: Eric Bledsoe’s authoritative coming out/welcome backmost party.

In the 11th crippled this season, the 12th-year defender came live offensively Thursday, joining 4 different Clippers successful treble figures. As is becoming tradition, Tyronn Lue’s squad brought its lunchboxes, hardhats and shovels and got to enactment digging itself retired of a heavy aboriginal hole, having fallen down 17 points successful this one.

Then Bledsoe – who returned this play to the squad with which helium began his NBA vocation successful 2010 and entered Thursday shooting conscionable 33.7% from the level – helped the Clippers (7-4) fend disconnected a tough-minded Miami team.

Bledsoe scored 15 of his 21 points successful the 2nd half, erstwhile helium changeable 6 for 9 from the tract arsenic they built a impermanent 11-point buffer, but past held connected with defence and capable timely shots.

The Heat (7-5) were playing the 2nd crippled of a back-to-back set, aft they mislaid to the Lakers, 120-117, successful overtime connected Wednesday astatine Staples Center.

A nighttime later, Miami – which changeable conscionable 9 for 41 from 3-point scope – got it wrong 108-107 with 40.7 seconds left.

Jackson drained the archetypal 2 of his precocious escaped throws to propulsion the vantage to 110-107 moments aft the Heat’s Kyle Lowry stripped him and delivered a walk to sharpshooter Duncan Robinson for the would-be go-ahead 3-pointer. Robinson’s changeable was disconnected the people and Luke Kennard came distant with the rebound earlier Jackson was fouled.

Following a timeout, Lowry’s layup chopped it to 110-109 with 4.9 seconds remaining. But again, Jackson was fouled and again helium buried some escaped throws.

Paul George continued his awesome play with 27 points connected 11-for-25 shooting – including a 3-pointer that pushed the pb to 105-98 with 2:52 near and the drawn complaint connected Miami’s adjacent travel downcourt.

Jackson coiled up with 22 points, Ivica Zubac added 18 and Kennard had 12.

Beside the game-clinching deflection, Batum notched six points and 3 blocked shots – to the delight of the 16,150 fans astatine Staples Center, wherever 1 spectator near $10,000 richer acknowledgment to a monthlong giveaway the Clippers are doing by which fans who are successful the stands aboriginal and dressed successful squad colors are successful the moving to triumph that magnitude each location crippled for the remainder of November.

Neither squad was astatine afloat strength: Miami was without All-Star Jimmy Butler (ankle) and Markieff Morris (neck), the Clippers again were missing All-Star Kawhi Leonard (ACL) and Marcus Morris Sr. (knee).

Bam Adebayo led Miami with 30 points connected 12-for-18 shooting. He came into Thursday’s crippled averaging 19.3 points per crippled and packed an full crippled into the archetypal 7:26, pouring successful 19 points connected 8-for-9 shooting to assistance the Heat physique a 26-16 lead.

The Clippers trailed by arsenic galore arsenic 17 points successful the opening framework and were down 40-25 astatine the extremity of the archetypal quarter, but the Clippers’ seat trio of Kennard, Hartenstein and Mann – of “L(uke)I(saiah)T(erance),” arsenic immoderate fans are calling them – got close to enactment chipping distant with 7 speedy points to trim it to 40-32.

That acceptable the code for the ever-buoyant Clippers, who closed the fractional connected a 19-6 tally and outscored the Heat 31-18 successful the 2nd 4th to spell into halftime trailing conscionable 58-56.

They kept the unit connected successful the 2nd half, outscoring Miami 30-20 – with fractional of their points successful the play coming courtesy of Jackson, who went 6 for 11 successful the period. Eric Bledsoe chipping successful with 7 of his points successful that frame, which the Clippers finished starring 86-78.

More to travel connected this story.