HHH GameTime Preview: Miami Heat Vs. Los Angeles Clippers

The Miami Heat will host the Los Angeles Clippers tonight at the AAA, at 7:00 PM EDT in the first of two contests between them this season. The Clippers will host the return engagement on February 5th. After losing two straight on the road, first to the Philadelphia 76ers 114-110 last Wednesday, then 101-100 to the Brooklyn Nets on Friday, Miami has strung two wins together, first defeating the Washington Wizards 103-93 on Sunday, then setting down the Toronto Raptors 104-95 on Tuesday. After tonight's matchup, they''ll go on to host the Boston Celtics on Saturday, the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday, and the Dallas Mavericks on November 15th.

The Clippers started out with a surprising loss to their cross-town rivals in the season opener before reeling off three straight W's. They defeated the Golden State Warriors, 126-115 on Thursday, the Sacramento Kings 110-101 on Friday, and the Houston Rockets 137-118 on Monday night. Last night, they dropped one in Orlando to the Magic, 98-90.

The Heat last met the Clippers on February 8th last season, when the 32-14 Heat hosted the 35-16 Clippers in South Beach. At the time, Miami had won four straight. LeBron James led the way for Miami with 30 points on a clinical nine-for-11 (including four-of-five from deep) from the field, with six assists and five rebounds. Dwyane Wade scored 20 points with seven helpers, six boards and four steals, and Mario Chalmers helped out with 18 points while Chris Bosh took the night off. DeAndre Jordan led the Clips with 17 points, while Jamal Crawford and Blake Griffin each tallied 13. * Full Recap * Box Score

SokmIN NBA 2 8 13 LA Clippers Vs Miami Heat Highlights (via SokMin Woo)

LeBron James spoke later about Miami's home performance:

It's all about controlling home, letting people know we have a home dominance.

For the Clippers point of view, check out Clips Nation.

Miami's last game would see the HEAT follow a 103-93 home victory over the Washington Wizards with a 104-95 road
victory against the Toronto Raptors. LeBron James led the way for the HEAT with 35 points, eight rebounds, and eight
assists, Dwyane Wade scored 20 with six rebounds and five assists, and Ray Allen came off the bench for 14 points
and four boards. Chris Bosh took the night off to be with his family after the birth of his second child, daughter Dylan.
DeMar DeRozan paced the Raptors with 21 points. * Full Recap * Box Score

Miami Heat vs Brooklyn Nets | November 1, 2013 | Full Highlights | NBA 2013-14 Season ᴴᴰ (via NBAshowtimeHD2)

James spoke afterward about scoring in double figures for the 500th time in a row, only the fifth player in NBA history
to accomplish the feat:

It's very humbling and I just go out and play every night those are the results of it. When I see a stat like that it's
like 'wow'. I know the history of the game and I know the guys who paved the way for my myself and my
teammates. To be in such a great class like that is an amazing feeling.

Check out Raptors HQ for more on Toronto.

In the last action for the Clippers, Los Angeles played the Magic in Orlando last night, dropping a 98-90 decision. Blake
Griffin scored 23 points with 13 boards, DeAndre Jordan scored nine with 19 rebounds, and Chris Paul scored 18 with 10 
helpers before fouling out in the loss. For the Magic, Nikola Vucevic led all scorers with 30 points and 21 rebounds, while
Jameer Nelson pitched in with 11 points and eight dimes. * Full Recap * Box Score

LA Clippers vs Orlando Magic | November 6, 2013 | Full Highlights | NBA 2013-14 Season (via NBAshôwtimeHD2)

LA coach Doc Rivers summed it up after:

If you spot a team 19 points, you can win some of those games, but on the average you're probably going to lose
the game. Eventually they're going to make some shots and you're going to miss some; just the law of averages
says that.

If you'd like to read up on the Magic, head on over to Orlando Pinstriped Post.

Game Time: 7:00 PM ET

Broadcast: TSN

Radio: NBA Game Time Audio, WAXY, KFWB 980AM/KWKW 1330

All-Time Series: Miami has a .612 winning percentage against the Clippers since the HEAT's inception, going 30-19 overall.

Season Series: First of two meetings

Standings:

Miami Heat: 3-2, .500, on pace for a 49-33 season. First in the Southeast Division, 3rd in the Eastern Conference, tied for eighth in the NBA. Last Five: w l l w w.

Los Angeles Clippers: 3-2, .600, on pace for a 49-33 season. Third in the Pacific Division, tied for seventh in the Western Conference, tied for eighth in the NBA. Last Five: l w w w l.

HEAT Milestones:

We're gonna try something new here. Player is on the left, categories across the top. In each field the ranking will be on the left and the total value will be on the right.

Player	Games	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Steals	Blocks
Allen	75       84	58       923	79   235	61   153	59   71	75   16
Andersen	111      47	106     231	87   189	135  19	104  19	48   47
Anthony	10       372	59       906	16  1,172	81   88	37   108	4   453
Battier	50    142	62       807	66   332	60   160	38   106	23   89
Beasley	41    160	21      2,285	23   937	56   183	34   121	24   87
Bosh	24    212	13      3,774	12   1,621	32   374	23   177	12   201
Chalmers	11    371	15      3,131	24   866	5  1,347	5   557	47   50
Cole	46    150	57       928	78   236	39   312	39   105	103   9
Haslem	1      674	7       5,968	1    5,170	18   643	9    380	11   217
James	23    222	8       5,958	11   1,720	4   1,532	10   372	15   169
Jones	19    246	49      1,035	65    338	74   112	59   71	42   52
Lewis	97     59	98       303	103  126	105  42	97   24	84   14
Mason	199    1	188       3	198    0	175   2	185   0	174   0
Oden	201    0	201       0	198    0	190   0	185   0	174   0
Wade	2     669	1      16,527	4   3,384	1   4,066	1   1,190	2   670

Today in HEAT history

Miami is 7-2 when playing on November 7th through their history, mostly against the Nets (5-1).

Birthdays

Greg Dreiling played 474 games at center over 10 seasons, mostly with the Indiana Pacers. He averaged just over two points per game, and today is his 51st birthday.

Starting Lineups

HEAT

PG - Mario Chalmers
PF - Udonis Haslem
C - Chris Bosh
SF - LeBron James
SG - Dwyane Wade

Clippers

PG - Chris Paul
PF - Blake Griffin
C - DeAndre Jordan
SF - Jared Dudley
SG - JJ Redick

HEAT Leaders

Points: LBJ - 25.6, BOSH - 19.8, DWade - 18.5
Rebounds: BOSH - 6.8, LBJ - 5.6, DWade - 5.0
Assists: LBJ - 8.0, Rio - 5.2, DWade - 4.3
Steals: Rio - 3.0, DWade - 1.8, four tied at 0.8
Blocks: BOSH - 1.5, DWade - 0.8, Birdman - 0.6
PER: LBJ (188 minutes) - 27.9, BOSH (131 minutes) - 22.7, RayRay (144 minutes) - 18.3, Rio (145 minutes) - 18.2, DWade (142 minutes) - 17.0

Thanks for stopping by Hot Hot Hoops today. Check back for the GameThread, going live at 6:00 PM. For more on the Clippers, check in over at Clips Nation.