Jordan Poole Scores 32 Points Off Bench, Warriors Beat Heat
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Jordan Poole spent a quarantine period in Boston doing jumping jacks, burpees, mountain climbers and anything else he could to keep his conditioning up while stuck in a hotel room.
Poole scored 32 points in his new reserve role, Andrew Wiggins added 22 points and a key driving dunk with 4:34 remaining on a quiet night for Stephen Curry, and the Golden State Warriors held off the undermanned Miami Heat 115-108 on Monday night.
"It was huge, we needed all of his 32 points, and the early foul trouble with Steph it changed our rotations," coach Steve Kerr said. "What a luxury to be able to come off the bench with a guy who's just started the first 35 games or whatever it was. Jordan has turned into just a critical player for us and he will remain to be critical with all the guys coming back coming off the bench."
Heat star Jimmy Butler was helped off the court with 3:14 left in the third quarter after hurting his right ankle going down awkwardly, leaving coach Erik Spoelstra with a worried look on his face given his team's already depleted roster. Butler had 22 points, five rebounds and three assists.
Curry had a season-low nine points. The reigning scoring champion scored his first points on a 3-pointer at the 7:45 mark of the second quarter and quickly had seven points. He wound up 3 for 17 — 1 of 10 on 3s — and contributed 10 assists. Wiggins made his initial three field goals and scored 12 of his points in the first quarter.
Kyle Lowry had 16 points and 11 assists for the Heat playing in foul trouble, whistled for his fifth personal with 43.2 seconds remaining in the third. Tyler Herro scored 18 points for a Miami team down 10 players in all, five because of the COVID protocols.
Draymond Green dished out 13 assists returning from a two-game absence in the league health and safety protocols while Poole came off the bench in his second game back from being sidelined for six games in the protocols.
"That's the one thing about him, he loves the competition, he loves the game of basketball, and he's always ready," said Wiggins, who will now challenge the third-year guard to use his athleticism and get a couple of blocked shots.
Curry picked up his second foul at the 9:18 mark of the first and took a seat with Poole entering and immediately knocking down a 3.
Gary Payton II started and scored in double figures in a career-best seventh straight game with 14 points. He also had four of the Warriors' 11 steals.
P.J. Tucker was still listed as questionable before going through his warmups then deemed available after being in the health and safety protocols. He came off the bench after missing the previous six games.
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