Klay Thompson scored 30 points Wednesday night, and the Miami Heat needed all 30. His eighth 3-pointer, a shot from the left corner with one second remaining in overtime, gave Miami a 117-116 road win over the Los Angeles Clippers after trailing by as many as 20. Thompson finished with five rebounds and shot 8-for-17 from beyond the arc, making him the oldest player in Heat history to record at least 30 points, five rebounds and five made 3-pointers in a regular-season game.
Three of those 3-pointers came in the opening quarter, helping Miami build a 33-24 lead. The Clippers answered with 43 points in the second quarter alone, taking a 67-52 lead into halftime. Even with about four minutes left in the fourth, Los Angeles still led by 10.
Davion Mitchell did his best to try bring Miami back. He stripped Darius Garland to start a fast break, then drove past him for a three-point play after Garland briefly slowed the rally with a deep 3. Giannis Antetokounmpo eventually put the Heat ahead at the line before Rui Hachimura tied the game with a free throw with 2.7 seconds left.
The Clippers had a chance to go up five in overtime when Hachimura got to the rim for a dunk, but Antetokounmpo blocked him from behind, took the ball the other way and found Thompson in the corner. In a matter of seconds, a possession that could have put Los Angeles two scores ahead ended with the game tied. Garland scored all nine of the Clippers’ overtime points.
His last basket put Los Angeles up four with 1:19 left, but Bam Adebayo answered inside to finish with a season-high 35 points. Antetokounmpo then grabbed his 14th rebound with 3.8 seconds left, allowing Miami to call timeout and set up the inbounds play for Thompson. Adebayo led Miami in scoring.
Antetokounmpo added 27 points and six assists. Yet when the Heat had one possession left and a two-pointer would have forced another overtime, the look they got was an open three for Thompson. He had scored six of his 30 points in overtime, both times with Miami behind.
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