Portland Trail Blazers wins thrilling come-from-behind victory over Miami
A three-point shot with T’s closing buzzer saved Portland.
The Portland Trail Blazers won 110-107 against the 2022-2023 NBA Miami Heat at FTX Arena in Florida on the 7th. Josh Hart’s three-point shot with the closing buzzer succeeded and managed to win. Portland was sluggish with Damian Lillard (19 points and 6 assists), but won a thrilling come-from-behind victory with Jeremy Grant (23 points and 6 rebounds) and Anthony Simons (25 points and 4 assists).
Miami’s Jimmy Butler (16 points, 7 assists, 6 steals), Snake Adebayo (16 points, 5 rebounds), and Kyle Lowry (15 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds) played but lost. Miami lost two consecutive games and fell to 13th place in the Eastern Conference.
Portland took an 8–0 lead at the start, but Miami came from behind with a 12–0 run. The first quarter ended in a tie of 28-28.
Miami’s archery unit exploded in the second quarter. Portland had no control over Miami’s 3-pointer. Gabe Vincent, Laurie, and Duncan Robinson exploded, finishing the first half with Portland trailing 53-60.
In the first half, both teams, which showed a hot shot, cooled down in the third quarter. Portland still hasn’t found an answer to Miami’s regional defense. Miami also had difficulty scoring as its three-point shot cooled down. Both teams finished the third quarter sluggishly in scoring.
Early in the fourth quarter, Max Strauss’ three points and Butler’s score widened the gap to double digits. But Portland’s endurance was great. Simons, Grant, and Lillard took turns to score and chased, and eventually tied 98-98 with Lillard’s two points with two minutes left.
Since then, the joy and sorrow of the two teams, who exchanged points while playing a seesaw game, have been divided with the ending buzzer. With 107-104 and Portland leading with 10 seconds left, Strauss’ three-point shot tied with 6.2 seconds left, but Hart’s three-point shot with the finishing buzzer made Portland a dramatic come-from-behind victory.