LA Clippers 109-105 Miami Heat: Twitter missing the superstars as shorthanded offenses battle in South Beach

The LA Clippers once again went to battle without Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Patrick Beverley. This time, they took on an equally depleted opponent, the Miami Heat. For the 10th straight game, the Heat took the court without their star Jimmy Butler.

This matchup started out all Miami, with the Heat outscoring the Clippers 33-19 in the first quarter. This outburst was met with a strong answer from the LA Clippers, who took a 9-point lead into the fourth quarter. Neither team had a true standout player, but rather many players filling their roles and making shots when their numbers were called.

LA Clippers outlast Miami Heat in shorthanded battle

New Orleans Pelicans v Miami Heat

The LA Clippers have been without their star Kawhi Leonard since January 24th, as he undergoes COVID protocol and conditions for his return. The same goes for Paul George and Patrick Beverley, with many bench players filling into their spots in the mean time.

The Miami Heat have gotten great production from Gabe Vincent off the bench, averaging 8 points and 2 assists on the season and exploding for 18 points tonight. Tyler Herro had an off-night of shooting, going 8-of-21 from the field but still finishing with a team-high of 19 points.

Here's how Twitter reacted to the shorthanded showdown:

The Clippers had six different players score in double digits tonight, and had 40 point quarter in a game without Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

— Farbod Esnaashari (@Farbod_E) January 29, 2021

WHAT A DAMN WIN! WOW! That is probably the strangest game of basketball I’ve ever watched in my entire life, but it ended in a Clipper win.

— Jack (@Jackclippers) January 29, 2021

🖇 Quite a third quarter from the shorthanded @LAClippers in Miami against (an also shorthanded) Heat squad. Really enjoying watching @terance_mann continue to grow #GoClips

— Jordan Stepp (@JordanGStepp) January 29, 2021

Clearly, this game had a somewhat anticlimactic feel when the stars of both teams were declared out, but the bench players made the most of their extended minutes and battled until the end.

Here are more reactions to the LA Clippers' narrow victory:

Reggie Jackson called a timeout when the Clippers didn't have any 😬 pic.twitter.com/OMSv7WJMTC

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 29, 2021

Reggie Jackson just pulled a Chris Webber and you know exactly what I mean 🤦🏻‍♂️. Heat-Clippers just got interesting.

— Chase Hughes (@ChaseHughesNBCS) January 29, 2021

Herro, Nunn & Adebayo all miss their 3's during clutch time leading to an unfortunate loss to the Clippers despite a great 4th quarter run pic.twitter.com/YaCxJ9bHLa

— Main Team (@MainTeamSports) January 29, 2021

Reggie Jackson and Serge Ibaka 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/fR0rtgyVA7

— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) January 29, 2021

The Miami Heat fell to 6-12 on the season with this loss, desperately awaiting the returns of Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic. The LA Clippers improved to 14-5 with the win, taking sole posession of 2nd place in the Western Conference standings.

Both teams will be very anxious to return to full strength, but for the time being, their role players will get valuable minutes and hopefully build depth for a postseason run.