Jordan Poole of the Golden State Warriors drives to the basket during the game against the Miami Heat on March 23, 2022 in Miami, Florida. Photo: VCG

Jordan Poole scored 30 points as the short-handed Golden State Warriors halted their losing streak in emphatic fashion with a 118-104 defeat of the Eastern Conference-leading Miami Heat on Wednesday.

The Warriors, missing injured star point guard Stephen Curry, had stumbled to three straight losses heading into Wednesday's road game in Florida, with a 94-90 reversal to Orlando on Tuesday the latest setback.

Warriors coach Steve Kerr responded by opting to rest Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, and the gamble paid off as an unfamiliar-looking lineup delivered in style at Miami's FTX Arena.

Poole had nine assists alongside his 30-point performance, while Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga and Damion Lee each finished with 22 points.

After pulling ahead by 19 points in the third quarter, the Warriors looked to be ­wobbling after Miami clawed their way back into the contest to lead early in the fourth period.

But Poole, Wiggins and Kuminga combined for 23 points in a 37-point fourth quarter to see the Warriors home. 

Golden State improved to 48-25 for third place in the Western Conference while Miami fell to 47-25 at the top of the East, just 1.5 games ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks.

Kerr acknowledged the win was in sharp contrast to his team's struggles against lowly Orlando 24 hours earlier.

"Sometimes the NBA doesn't make any sense," he said. "One thing I've learned is that these are the greatest players on earth.

"There's 30 teams - the bad teams have great players and the good teams have great players. Everybody's human. 

"You go through ups and downs and it's a full 82-game season. That's why it's important to just keep pushing ahead and not succumb to the noise and the roller-coaster nature of it all."

A thrilling duel in Memphis saw a Grizzlies lineup missing star Ja Morant clinch a 132-120 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

Kyrie Irving delivered ­another dazzling performance for Brooklyn with 43 points while Kevin Durant added 35 points, but the Nets were confounded by a resilient Memphis team.

Desmond Bane and De'Anthony Melton led the Grizzlies scoring with 23 points each while Dillon Brooks had 21. Four other Memphis players finished in double figures.

Memphis had swept into a 76-62 halftime lead but were blitzed by a 42-point ­Brooklyn third quarter, with Durant and Irving ­contributing 25 points between them to give the Nets a slender lead.

But Memphis roared back to outscore the Nets 29-16 in the fourth to clinch victory.