The Golden State Warriors can be consistently counted on to make their games close in the fourth quarter. Even though they’re losing most of them, they are taking far superior teams down to the wire and competing late in games even if they shouldn’t be.

On the road against the Miami Heat on Friday, they were once again able to make the game interesting. But this time, it didn’t come in the fourth quarter, and the Heat ran away with a 122-105 win.

When the Heat jumped out to a 20-point lead by the end of the first quarter, it seemed as though they had an opportunity to run away with it. They were shooting lights-out and the Warriors seemed to have no response offensively or defensively.

But this Warriors team can’t afford to throw in the towel after bad starts, and they didn’t on Friday. They outplayed the Heat in the second quarter. Jordan Poole and Marquese Chriss led the way as the Warriors cut the deficit in half on multiple occasions and wound up trailing by 13 at halftime. Not ideal, but not bad at all considering the direction the game could have gone after the first quarter.

The start of the third quarter continued the positive trends for the Dubs. Eric Paschall played aggressively and Poole continued to find his shooting touch. Eventually, they cut the deficit to just six points. Once again, a Warriors game was close when it shouldn’t have been. They proved they could dig themselves out of the initial hole they faced. The only remaining question was whether or not they could avoid falling back into that hole.

They were unable to do so. The Heat’s pure talent simply won out in the end as Miami made more shots and played better defense. By the end of the third quarter, they led by 16. They kept the pressure on in the fourth quarter, stretching the lead to as much as 29 and wrapping up the game long before it was over. They improved to 13-5 on the year and remained undefeated at home while the Warriors fell to 4-16.

While the Warriors only played well for about half the game, there were several positive takeaways from this time. Paschall’s aggression, and the strategy that went along with it, was one of them. The Warriors put the ball in his hands more frequently and at times had him run the offense as a point forward. He drove a lot, looking for shots or kickouts to his teammates. The results of his drives were mixed. He scored 17 points and led the team in free-throw attempts, but had more turnovers (two) than assists (one). Either way, this feels like a positive. In the future, Paschall will likely be asked to run the offense from time to time, much in the same way Draymond Green has done so over the past few seasons. Giving him in-game practice and experience as the floor general, especially with a struggling team, will be beneficial to him down the line.

The most notable Warrior in the game was Poole, who had maybe his best game as a professional basketball player. He has struggled mightily with his shot all season, but not on Friday. He scored a team-high 20 points and hit five of his six three-point attempts while also getting to the foul line several times. In service of the result of the game, it didn’t matter much, but that’s not what his performance was about. When a rookie has challenges on the offensive end, it can hurt his confidence. He might play scared or overthink every decision. A game like the one Poole had may help him avoid this. The next few games will help determine whether this performance was just a momentary blip amidst the shooting woes or the start of a trend in the right direction.

Like Poole, Willie-Cauley Stein broke out of an offensive slump by scoring 14 confident points. Alec Burks, Omari Spellman and Chriss all scored in double figures as well. Chriss continues to impress as a passer, a skill he was not known for during most of his NBA career. But he recorded six assists against Miami and his ability to pass as a big man can now be used as a threat.

In spite all of the positives, the Heat simply played a better game of basketball. As well as the Warriors are embracing their underdog role, they aren’t able to shock the league’s top teams just quite yet.