Hayward leads Jazz to 98-83 win over Miami

Miami came out strong, but eventually watched Gordon Hayward score 34 to defeat the Heat, 98-83 at the Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Saturday night.

Goran Dragic led the Heat strong out the gates, scoring 11 points on four-of-five shooting in nine minutes. The Heat drained 12-of-17 shots overall, a success rate just north of 70%. Utah also helped Miami jump out to a 10-point lead at the first break by turning the ball over eight times through the frame, which ended at 29-19. Gordon Hayward had six points and four of the turnovers for Utah.

Trey Burke led all scorers in the second quarter with nine for Utah off the bench. Hayward, Chris Johnson, and Raul Neto each had five as the Jazz outscored the Heat 26-20. Chris Bosh had six points to lead the Heat by draining all three of his field goal attempts. The half ended with Miami up by a count of 49-45. Dragic only added three points to his still-game-leading point total.

Hayward went off on the Heat in the third quarter, scoring 18 points on eight-of-nine shooting. Bosh tried to help the Heat keep pace, with 11 on five-of-seven, but the Jazz outscored Miami 27-to-19. The quarter ended with the heat trailing 72-68.

The final quarter would see the Heat sink just six-of-26 shots and total 15 points while watching helplessly as the Jazz pulled away with 26 of their own. Hayward finished with a game-high 34 points, Johnson had 14, Neto scored 13 with five helpers, Burke scored 11, and Trey Lyles collected 10 boards, although he only scored three points on the night.

Bosh led Miami with 24 points on an 11-for-16 shooting performance, and Hassan Whiteside returned to his double-double collecting ways with 10 points, 11 rebounds, and four blocked shots. Dragic's hot start proved unsustainable. He finished with just 16 points while Gerald Green had 13 with six rebounds.

Miami continues their road trip with a 10:30 showtime on Monday night against the NBA-best Golden State Warriors. You can read up on the Jazz at SLC Dunk, and the Warriors at Golden State Of Mind. HHH has the Heat, day or night for you.