MIAMI (AP) — Josh Richardson’s layup with 5.1 seconds left capped a Miami rally from eight points down in the fourth, Donovan Mitchell missed what would have been the winner at the buzzer and the Heat beat the Utah Jazz 103-102 on Sunday.
Tyler Johnson and Goran Dragic each scored 16 points for Miami, which has won four straight — all by single digits, the Heat’s longest stretch of such games since November 2012.
Richardson and Hassan Whiteside each had 14 points, James Johnson scored 13 and Kelly Olynyk had 12.
Mitchell scored 19 of his 27 points in the second half, but couldn’t save Utah from dropping its seventh straight on the road. He went into the backcourt to take the final inbounds pass and wound up taking a jumper from the right side that missed as time expired.
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Rodney Hood scored 17 points, Thabo Sefolosha added 13 and Derrick Favors 11 for the Jazz. Utah was up eight with 6:59 left, and was still up by five in the final 2 minutes before Miami closed on an 8-2 spurt.
Richardson’s winner came after the Heat called a timeout with 7.8 seconds left, after corralling the rebound off of Hood’s miss. Richardson got to the rim with ease, laid it in and Miami moved back to fifth in the Eastern Conference.
“He’s ready for the next jump,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “The jump is ready for him. It’s just a matter of when.”
Miami improved to 2-14 when trailing after three quarters.
The Heat led for 20 of the 24 first-half minutes, but their lead was only 49-47 at the break.
Mitchell was 3 for 12 in the opening half, after going 5 for 14 against the Heat when the teams met in November. It was like he was due to break out — and did just that, needing only 3 minutes to score Utah’s first 11 points of the second half.
He made his first five shots of the third, ended up 6-for-8 for 13 points in the quarter and Utah took a 75-74 lead into the fourth.
TIP-INS
Jazz: The 3:30 p.m. EST tip is the earliest for Utah this season. … The Jazz scored 74 points in the teams’ first meeting this season; Joe Johnson’s jumper with 1:09 left in the third gave Utah 75 on Sunday. … Utah is off until Wednesday, which means the Jazz — who had time for exactly one non-gameday practice in December — will get one during this trip.
Heat: Miami plays seven of its next eight, and 11 of its next 14, on the road. … There’s been no change yet in the status of Dion Waiters, who sought a second opinion on his sprained left ankle last week. Waiters missed his sixth consecutive game. … The Heat sent Derrick Walton Jr. to Sioux Falls of the G League over the weekend, after he appeared in 12 games with Miami.
SILVER WATCHES
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver watched the game from the stands. He’s in Miami for league marketing meetings scheduled for this week.
BOTH SIDES
Whiteside had tip-ins on consecutive possessions in the first quarter, 22 seconds apart, which sounds great — until realizing it happened on both ends of the floor. Favors was credited with the basket when Whiteside accidentally deflected the ball in for two Utah points, and on the ensuing Miami possession the Heat center tipped in a miss by Dragic.
UP NEXT
Jazz: Visit Washington on Wednesday night, as their trip continues.
Heat: Visit Toronto on Tuesday night, then visit Indiana on Wednesday.
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