Giannis Antetokounmpo Scores 30 Through a Sore Wrist as the Heat Hold Off the Jazz 115-109 to Finish Their Road Trip

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while playing through a sprained right wrist, and the Miami Heat beat the short-handed Utah Jazz 115-109 on Tuesday night at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.

The win closed a five-game Western Conference road trip at 3-2 and lifted Miami to 5-6 on the season. The Heat have won three of their last four games. Utah fell to 1-10 and has lost nine straight.

Miami led for about 90 percent of the game, according to ESPN's game data, and was ahead by as many as 23 points early in the fourth quarter. The Jazz cut the margin to five in the final minute before late defensive plays by Klay Thompson and Bam Adebayo helped the Heat close it out.

Antetokounmpo plays through the wrist

Antetokounmpo iced the wrist in a heavy wrap whenever he went to the bench, according to The Associated Press, but the injury did not appear to limit him on the floor. He made 12 of 21 shots, went 5 of 9 from the free-throw line and added four assists with one turnover in 31 minutes. He finished plus-11.

The 30-point night moved him to 21,836 career points, passing Gary Payton for 39th on the NBA's career scoring list, the AP reported. Antetokounmpo is in his first season in Miami after the Heat acquired him from the Milwaukee Bucks in a June trade that also brought forward Bobby Portis to South Florida.

His biggest stretch came after halftime. Antetokounmpo's scoring sparked a 15-2 run in the third quarter that turned a 10-point halftime lead into the cushion Miami needed. Peterson's early 3-pointer had trimmed the deficit to 64-57, but Mitchell answered with two 3-pointers, and Antetokounmpo scored on a dunk, a pullup jumper and a 3-pointer during the burst. When his 3-pointer fell with 4:51 left in the quarter, Miami led 85-66. When Utah made its fourth-quarter push, he answered with two dunks and a layup in a span of a little more than two minutes.

The supporting cast

Davion Mitchell scored 19 points with eight assists and five rebounds in 38 minutes. Pelle Larsson added 14 points and seven rebounds, and Andrew Wiggins gave the Heat 13 points off the bench on 5-of-8 shooting.

Adebayo struggled with his shot, going 1 of 8 from the field, but still finished with 11 points by making 9 of 12 free throws. He added eight rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks. Thompson scored 11 points on 3-of-13 shooting, including 2 of 10 from 3-point range, but his block of a Josh Green layup with 1:05 remaining was one of the plays that held off the Jazz.

Utah started fast, scoring the first six points on a Bailey 3-pointer and a three-point play by Josh Okogie, and led 8-1 less than two minutes in. Miami answered behind Antetokounmpo, who scored seven points in a span of about two and a half minutes, and the Heat moved in front 13-12 on a Larsson drive. The only lead change of the night came there, and Miami led 29-25 after one quarter.

The Heat opened up the game in the second quarter. Larsson's 3-pointer with 6:58 left in the half capped a 13-1 run and put Miami ahead 49-32. The Heat led 64-54 at halftime and 92-72 after three quarters.

Utah's teenagers and a late run

The Jazz were missing four starters to injury: Lauri Markkanen (wrist), Keyonte George (ankle), Jaren Jackson Jr. (knee) and Jusuf Nurkic (foot), according to the AP. Their young core kept the game from turning into a rout.

Rookie Darryn Peterson scored 25 points on 10-of-19 shooting with four 3-pointers, coming within a point of his career high of 26 for the second straight game. Ace Bailey scored 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds.

The comeback, though, came from an unlikely source. Isaiah Collier, who had not made a 3-pointer all season, made four in a row in the fourth quarter, according to the AP, and his final one with 6:42 left cut Miami's lead to 101-93. Collier finished with 17 points and five assists off the bench.

Miami pushed the lead back to 12 at 107-95 behind Antetokounmpo and a pair of Mitchell free throws. Svi Mykhailiuk then scored on back-to-back possessions, the second with 47.7 seconds left, to make it 112-107. Adebayo blocked a Collier layup with 22.1 seconds remaining, and free throws by Mitchell and Larsson sealed it before Brice Sensabaugh's layup with 2.2 seconds left set the final margin.

By the numbers

The Heat won despite shooting 39.3 percent from the field and 12 of 41 from 3-point range. They made up for it at the free-throw line and by protecting the ball. The team comparison:

Utah outrebounded Miami and dominated inside, but the Jazz, who have struggled with turnovers all season according to the AP, gave the ball away 18 times to the Heat's eight. Miami also attempted twice as many free throws.

What the road trip showed

Miami left South Florida at 2-4 after a difficult start that included home losses to Minnesota, Detroit and Dallas. The trip began with a loss to the Lakers, followed by an overtime win over the Clippers, a 120-100 loss at Golden State, a 114-108 win at Sacramento on Sunday and Tuesday's victory in Utah.

The Heat are now one game under .500 and second in the Southeast Division, according to ESPN standings. With Antetokounmpo producing and Mitchell running the offense, the team returns home with momentum, though the wrist will be worth watching.

What's next

The Heat host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night at Kaseya Center, the first of five straight home games. Utah plays the second half of a back-to-back on Wednesday when it hosts the Orlando Magic.