For most of Wednesday night, the Clippers looked like they were finally going to snap out of it. Then Klay Thompson happened. With one second left in overtime, Thompson drilled a three from the left corner to give the Miami Heat a 117–116 win at Intuit Dome.
The ending was pure chaos. The Clippers led 116–112 with 1:19 left in overtime and never scored again. Bam Adebayo scored inside to cut it to two. Then Giannis Antetokounmpo grabbed a defensive rebound with 3.8 seconds left, Miami called a timeout, and Giannis inbounded to a wide-open Thompson in the corner. Kobe Sanders' desperation heave at the buzzer missed.
Miami had no business being in that position. The Clippers scored the first 10 points of the second quarter in a 26–2 run, won that quarter 43–19, and led by 20 late in the first half. The Heat were still down 10 with about four and a half minutes left in regulation, then went on a 9–0 run to tie it and force overtime.
Adebayo had season highs with 35 points and 10 rebounds. Thompson scored 30 and hit 8 of 17 threes, which felt very 2016. Giannis added 27 points, 14 rebounds, and 6 assists. For the Clippers, Darius Garland scored 26 with 7 assists, Rui Hachimura had 21 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists, and Brook Lopez chipped in 20.
The standings tell two very different stories. Miami is now 3–5 and has won three of four after losing its first four. The Clippers are 1–7 and have lost seven straight since beating Sacramento on opening night. It doesn't help that Brandon Ingram and Bradley Beal haven't played yet this season.
Is this the start of a Heat turnaround, and how worried should Clippers fans be right now?