Jan. 23 (UPI) -- The Los Angeles Clippers arrived to Miami at 4 a.m., after playing in Dallas the night before, but showed no signs of jet-lag in a 111-99 win against the Heat.
"Our energy [was impressive]," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "You get in at 4 a.m. and you come out and play like that ... other than [the first quarter], I thought we were terrific."
Both teams showed fight early on, watching the lead change hands 11 times in the first three quarters, before the Clippers proved to have more energy down the stretch.
Tobias Harris scored 22 of his game-high 31 points in the first half of the win. Hassan Whiteside led the Heat with 22 points and 16 rebounds in the loss.
"We came out here and decided that the first team to come out here and play defense was the team that was going to win," Harris said.
The Clippers edged the Heat 21 to 9 in second chance points. Miami held a 31-27 advantage in the first quarter and led by as many as six points in the frame before the Clippers got rolling. Los Angeles punched back for a 27-23 edge in the second quarter, tying the score at 54-54 at the break.
The third quarter featured five lead changes, but the Clippers led by as many as seven points and took a 77-72 lead into the final frame. The Clippers ended the quarter on an 8-2 run. Los Angeles broke out to a 12-2 run to start the fourth quarter and snatched momentum quickly.
"It was a great game and looked like it was heading into a really competitive game going into the fourth quarter and they took control," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters.
The Heat face the Cleveland Cavaliers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. The Clippers battle the Chicago Bulls at 8 p.m. on Friday at the United Center in Chicago.
