Heat at Clippers
The Clippers wrap up a nine-game homestand — the longest in the NBA since the 2011-12 season — and hope to finish on a good note when they face the Miami Heat on Sunday afternoon. The Clippers have won six of eight on the homestand, which began with a Christmas night victory against the Golden State Warriors. The Heat come in riding a cooling trend, having lost five of their last six, most recently a 16-point defeat Thursday at the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Clippers beat the visiting Dallas Mavericks by 20 points on Saturday afternoon and took a healthy lead into the fourth quarter, allowing the starter’s minutes to be limited. Still, they’ve been excellent in the second game of back-to-backs this season, winning six of eight so far, including a 110-93 victory at Miami on Nov. 20, one night after winning by 24 at the Orlando Magic. Miami leading scorer Dwyane Wade missed the first meeting against the Clippers with a hamstring injury, though the Heat have gone 6-14 in the 20 games he has appeared since his return.
TV: 3:30 p.m., Sun Sports (Miami), Prime Ticket (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE HEAT (15-21): The Heat have been looking for others to step up ever since LeBron James departed for the Cleveland Cavaliers over the summer and Hassan Whiteside is starting to do his part. He has reached double figures in scoring in the last three games — the first time he has accomplished that in his three-year career — and is shooting 66.7 percent from the floor for the season. On the flip side, Luol Deng has combined for 13 points the last two games, his lowest two-game point total of the season, dipping his scoring average to 14.1.
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (25-12): Los Angeles may be coming off its best all-around game of the season in the blowout win against the well-rested Mavericks. All five starters scored between 13 and 22 points, and Jamal Crawford contributed 19 off the bench, improving the Clippers to 8-2 when six players reach double figures. The starting five for Los Angeles combined to shoot 65 percent from the floor when these teams met in November.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Miami C Chris Andersen has started the last 11 games, the longest stretch of his 13-year career.
2. The Heat are 3-4 on the road against Western Conference teams this season and 1-5 at home.
3. Miami is 15-0 all-time when C Chris Bosh scores at least 30 points.