Jazz claim first win in Miami since 2010

MIAMI — For the Utah Jazz, it was a rare win, especially on the road.

For the Miami Heat, who have made the NBA Finals in each of the past four seasons, it was all part of their alarming new reality.

In fact, not even Dwyane Wade’s vintage 42-point performance could save the Heat on Wednesday night as the Jazz left AmericanAirlines Arena with a 105-87 victory.

Small forward Gordon Hayward had 29 points and a game-high seven assists to lead the Jazz, prompting Utah coach Quin Snyder to praise his young star’s leadership.

“The more we can hear his voice, I think it has a positive impact,” Snyder said. “From the very beginning of the game, we were in front of our bench, defensively, and you could hear our guys talking to each other. There was a connectivity on defense that we were looking for (all season).”

That connectivity helped Utah hold Miami to 38.6 percent shooting from the field, including 4 of 17 on 3-pointers (23.5 percent). The Jazz were plus-seven on rebounds, holding the Heat to 11 second-chance points and 30 points in the paint.

Utah (7-19) won for the second time in 14 games and is now 3-10 on the road. Before Wednesday, the Jazz last won a road game on Nov. 14 at the New York Knicks and last won at Miami on Nov. 9, 2010.

Power forward Enes Kanter added 18 points to lead Utah, which took control of the game midway through the first quarter and never trailed again.

Kanter, who had a career-high 29 points on Tuesday at New Orleans, has a combined total of 47 points in his past two games.

“He’s playing extremely well,” Hayward said. “There were a couple of plays tonight when Enes made a big corner 3-pointer and then he had a heck of a move on the baseline for a score. Those are momentum-swingers.”

Wade had his highest scoring game since Feb. 25, 2011. But with starting forwards Chris Bosh and Josh McRoberts out with injuries, the Heat fell to 12-14 as no other Miami player had more than 11 points.

“You want to win games like this so you can feel good about yourself,” said Wade, who has a combined total of 70 points in the past two games. “The way we lost … at home … I’m not used to that.”

Indeed, Miami is 8-6 on the road and 4-8 at home, including seven losses in its past eight games in its arena. The Heat have lost four straight home games, the first time that has happened since March 2011.

Utah came out fast, shooting 65 percent from the field and leading 33-16 after the first quarter. Hayward was nearly perfect, making 4 of 5 from the floor, including 2 of 2 on 3-pointers, and 3 of 3 from the foul line. He finished the quarter with 13 points.

Miami, which shot just 31.3 percent from the floor, had the second-lowest scoring quarter of its season.

Wade had his best half of the season with 23 points, including 17 in the second quarter, and his performance kept things from being worse for Miami.

Even so, the Jazz led 55-41 at halftime. Utah made 8 of 11 3-pointers in the first half (72.7 percent), and Hayward went into the break with 18 points and four assists.

Miami got as close as seven points in the third quarter before Utah pulled away again. The Jazz closed the quarter on a 15-4 run and took a 77-59 lead into the fourth quarter.

“After getting a good win on the road (Tuesday night against the Nets), coming back with this effort as a group is unacceptable,” Wade said. “That’s our problem. We have to fix that. Our coaches can’t do (anything) about that part.”

NOTES: Jazz F Trevor Booker argued with a referee’s call and was hit with two technical fouls and ejected with 3.5 seconds left in the half. … Jazz PF Derrick Favors returned to the starting lineup after missing two games with a sprained right ankle. He had 11 points and six rebounds. … With Favors back, Jazz C Rudy Gobert returned to the bench. Gobert averaged 6.5 points, nine rebounds and three blocks in his two starts. … Heat PF Chris “Birdman” Andersen made his first start of the season and had six points and a team-high nine rebounds. … Miami PF Josh McRoberts, who is set to have knee surgery on Monday or Tuesday and is likely out for the season, has played just 17 games for Miami. He was supposed to be a starter, but toe, back and knee injuries ruined his season. … Heat PF Chris Bosh (calf injury) missed his third consecutive game. He could be out a couple of weeks. … Miami C Justin Hamilton (two points) started despite a bruised left quad. … Up next, Utah plays the Magic in Orlando on Friday. Miami plays host to the Washington Wizards on Friday.