After knocking down a barrage of 3-pointers in their blowout win over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night, the Golden State Warriors picked up right where they left off on Monday evening with the Miami Heat in town.
Led by former Heat All-Star forward Jimmy Butler, the Warriors came out swinging. Butler tallied 13 first-quarter points to lead the Warriors to a 36-34 lead in the opening frame. Despite Butler’s early run, the Heat didn’t go away, thanks to former Warrior Andrew Wiggins.
In his first game back at Chase Center since being traded at the deadline last year, Wiggins tallied 18 first-half points against his former team. With Butler and Wiggins trading buckets, the Warriors were able to cling to a four-point advantage at the first half whistle.
In the third quarter, Chase Center went quiet as Butler appeared to suffer a knee injury. Butler landed awkwardly on his right knee and went to the ground in pain. Butler exited the game and went to the locker room before being ruled out for the remainder of the game with a right knee injury. After the game, the Warriors revealed that Butler is undergoing an MRI on his knee.
Following Butler’s injury, the Warriors picked up their teammate with a game-swinging run. At the time of Butler’s injury, the Warriors held a two-point lead with under eight minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The Warriors went on a 12-0 run to take a commanding 15-point lead. Behind their third-quarter run and Brandin Podziemski’s fiery finish to the game, the Warriors were able to pull away for a 135-112 win.
Podziemski led the Warriors with 24 points on 9-of-19 shooting from the field with a trio of 3-pointers to go along with six boards and four assists in 30 minutes off the bench. Podziemski scored 17 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter.
Along with Podziemski and Butler, the Warriors had five other players tally double-figure scoring numbers on Monday. Six different players hit two or more 3-pointers against the Heat for 24 made 3-pointers. The Warriors have now drilled 20 or more 3-pointers in their last four games.
The Warriors have now posted a 6-1 record during their eight-game homestand. The Warriors will wrap up their homestand on Tuesday on the second leg of a back-to-back against the Raptors.
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This article originally appeared on Warriors Wire: Warriors pull away from Heat for fourth straight win, 135-112