Butler takes over late, Heat rally past Warriors 116-109
MIAMI -- - Upon review, Miami coach Erik Spoelstra had a good birthday. Jimmy Butler made sure of that.
Butler scored five straight points late to give Miami the lead, Max Strus led everyone with 24 and the Heat overcame a triple-double from Stephen Curry to beat the Golden State Warriors 116-109 on Tuesday night.
"Huge for our confidence," Strus said.
Butler scored 23 points, including a go-ahead three-point play with 1:48 left. Bam Adebayo scored 19, Duncan Robinson had 17 and Kyle Lowry 13 for Miami, which won on Spoelstra's 52nd birthday.
Curry had 23 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists for the Warriors (3-5), who dropped their third straight and are 0-4 on the road. Andrew Wiggins added 21 points and Klay Thompson scored 19.
"I thought our energy was better at times," Golden State's Draymond Green said. "But we've still got to put it together and win games."
Curry had his 10th regular season triple-double. But a call that went Miami's way denied him a chance to tie the game with 1:39 left.
Curry was hit on the hand by Butler as he tried a 3-pointer, with the Warriors down three. A foul was called, and Butler argued. That convinced Spoelstra to challenge the call.
"Just kind of went on a leap of faith," Spoelstra said.
It worked. The referees determined Butler hit Curry on the hand after the ball was gone; Butler said he also hit the ball first.
"They had a high-five," referee Bill Kennedy said.
Said Curry: "You've got to be allowed to finish your motion. ... There was a lot of contact. But what do I know about calls?"
The Warriors didn't score again, and lost a game they led by 10 in the second half. Golden State's 20 turnovers were turned into 28 Heat points - three of those turnovers being discontinued dribble calls against Jordan Poole.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said the NBA sent out an email Tuesday about that infraction. He didn't read it.
"The whole league does that," Kerr said. "They've been doing it ever since Allen Iverson convinced the referees that it wasn't a carry. It is a carry. What Jordan does is a carry. But the whole league's been doing it. I guess I have to start checking my email on game days."
TIP-INS
Warriors: Curry extended his NBA-record streak of regular-season games with a 3-pointer to 197. He also owns the second-longest streak (157). ... The Warriors took 49 shots from 3-point range, 35 shots from 2-point range. ... Poole was minus-23 in 30 minutes.
Heat: Lowry hit his 1,989th 3-pointer, passing Jason Kidd for 12th in NBA history. ... Spoelstra is now 6-2 on his birthday. ... Miami lost Tyler Herro midway through the second quarter after he got poked in the left eye by Golden State's Moses Moody on a rebound. Herro said he lost vision briefly, but it was back by postgame. ... The Heat were 20 for 20 from the line, tying the second-most without a miss in team history. They were 30 for 30 against Boston in 1993.
STILL OUT
Miami teammates Victor Oladipo (left knee) and Omer Yurtseven (left ankle), and Golden State's Andre Iguodala (left hip) all remained out. None have played this season.
Iguodala played in 109 games for Miami, helped it to the 2020 NBA Finals and hasn't faced the Heat since. Barring an NBA Finals matchup this season, he'll retire having played 45 games against Miami.
ON TO 2023
Heat-Warriors was the first season series to be completed in the NBA this season. The season series between the Heat and Sacramento ends Wednesday.
UP NEXT
Warriors: Visit Orlando on Thursday.
Heat: Host Sacramento on Wednesday.
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