Bosh, Johnson combine for 42 as Heat survive Jazz

MIAMI – When Miami traded away Mario Chalmers earlier this week, Heat President Pat Riley decided it was time for a chat with reserve guard Tyler Johnson.

 

Riley's message was short and sweet.

 

''Now, it's on,'' Riley said. ''That's what I said to him: 'Game on. You're not the third guard now.' And we have every confidence in him.''

 

Johnson keeps showing why that's the case.

 

Chris Bosh led the way with 25 points, and Johnson capped his 17-point night with two key field goals in the final 1:48 as the Heat topped the Utah Jazz 92-91 on Thursday night for their third straight win to open a seven-game homestand.

 

Goran Dragic finished with 14 points and Hassan Whiteside grabbed 14 rebounds for Miami, which started the game on a 9-0 run and opened the fourth quarter with a 13-4 spurt.

 

Derrick Favors led Utah with 25 points and 12 rebounds. Gordon Hayward had 24 points and 11 rebounds and Alec Burks added 24 - the last of those a 3-pointer as time expired - for the Jazz.

 

Both teams were missing key pieces.

 

Miami played without Dwyane Wade, who was excused for a family emergency. One of his sons needed hospitalization for undisclosed reasons, with the team only saying that the child was doing well and would be fine. The Heat were still without Wade's backup at shooting guard, with Gerald Green missing his sixth straight game and second of a two-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team stemming from an incident last week.

 

Utah was without starting center Rudy Gobert, the NBA's No. 3 shot-blocker coming into the game, who has a sprained left ankle.

 

The game featured the NBA's top two scoring defenses from the early going this season. Utah came in giving up 89.7 points per game on just under 41 percent shooting; the Heat came in giving up 90.1 points on just over 41 percent shooting.

 

And without Gobert to protect the rim, the Heat took advantage by shooting 47 percent.

 

TIP-INS

Jazz: Utah is opening its season with eight of 10 games on the road. Hayward averaged 11.2 points in his first six games against the Heat; he's averaged 23.7 points in three games against Miami since. his is Utah's first two-game slide this season. The Jazz missed 11 of their first 12 3-point attempts.

 

Heat: Bosh has a 3-pointer in all nine games this season, and a career-best 11 straight games going back to last season. Of the nine players Miami used, only Bosh played for the team in the 2014 NBA Finals. Miami improved to 4-0 against the Western Conference. Beno Udrih, acquired in the Chalmers trade to Memphis, scored two points in 18 minutes in his Miami debut.

 

NEW LINEUPS

Utah and Miami both were forced to make changes to their starting lineups for the first time this season, giving two rookies their first chances to be on the court for the tip-off of an NBA game.

 

Trey Lyles took Gobert's place in the opening lineup for the Jazz, and Burks started in place of Rodney Hood to begin the second half. For Miami, Josh Richardson started in Wade's place.

 

SOLDIER HONOREE

The Heat have honored soldiers - many still active personnel - immediately before games for years, though their ceremony Thursday had a slightly different feel.

 

Thursday's honoree was World War II veteran, Cpl. Joseph Spoto. The former US Marine recently turned 93.

 

UP NEXT

Jazz visit Orlando on Friday (Saturday in Manila), while the Heat host Minnesota on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila).