The Warriors charged out on a 13-5 run and hit eight of their first 11 shots, but the Heat battled back. Like they tend to do.

Chris Paul committed consecutive turnovers, then didn’t push the ball up the court quickly enough for an eight-second violation. With Curry on the bench and Trayce Jackson-Davis (sore right knee) unavailable, their offensive options dwindled. Miami won the first period by two.

Miami toggled through variations of zone defenses and full court pressures, forcing Golden State to adjust on the fly.

It was nothing the experienced Warriors hadn’t seen before, and they had counters. Still, they played even in the second quarter as Haywood Highsmith wreaked havoc and Bam Adebayo provided consistent offense. Thompson led all scorers at half with 15 in his return to the starting lineup.

Like they did to start the game, the Warriors opened the second half on a sprint. Thompson canned another 3, Andrew Wiggins crossed into double digits and Jonathan Kuminga threw down an alley-oop for a 15-6 run.

The Heat didn’t break, but Golden State still entered the fourth quarter with an 85-75 lead. With Steph Curry (17 points) at 24 minutes and the Warriors trying to conserve his load, they’d have to hold on for long stretches without their superstar.

The Warriors’ bench treaded water in the opening minutes and Kerr brought Curry back in early, at the 8:37 mark. As soon as he checked in, he got a bucket via goaltending on Adebayo, then he drilled a 3 over the Heat center’s contest.

Then Curry found a wide-open Kevon Looney underneath for a dunk, busting Miami’s zone and putting the Warriors up 14. The Heat, with a combined 74.6 points per game sidelined, didn’t have enough offense to bridge the difference. Thompson scored back-to-back buckets to balloon Golden State’s lead to 20.

The Warriors knew they couldn’t overlook the Heat, and they didn’t. Even as they’ve spiraled to the edge of the playoff picture, the Warriors still have a bit of their own culture to lean on, too.

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