The Miami HEAT defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 109-97 Saturday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. Dion Waiters led the way for the HEAT with 33 points.
1. Ball Hard, D. Waiters
To put it simply, Waiters scored Miami’s first two points of the game and didn’t look back. Throughout the evening, the 25-year-old kept Milwaukee on its toes with aggressive takes to the rack and a bunch of catch-and-shoot corner threes. As a result, the bullish guard scored 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting….in just the first half.
As the game progressed, Waiters continued to take his man off the dribble and finished with ease at the rim. Let’s take a look at one such instance late in the third quarter.
While that was a nifty bucket, the former Syracuse star nailed the game-sealing three that put the HEAT up 109-94 with 55.4 seconds remaining. In short, Waiters couldn’t be stopped on Saturday night.
In addition to tying his career-high with 33 points on 12-of-19 shooting, he also tallied three boards and three assists against the Bucks. Additionally, Waiters competed hard on the defensive end against Giannis Antetokounmpo when matched up with the “Greek Freak.”
2. Dragic Keeps It Up
What else can be said about Goran Dragic that hasn’t already been discussed? The Slovenian continued to knock down jumpers from both inside and outside, while also distributing the ball to his teammates. After a nice little spurt in the second quarter, which included an attack in transition and a pull-up three, Dragic tallied 13 points and three assists after halftime thanks to some nifty jumpers in the lane. The Dragon finished with 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting and six assists.
3. Ellington Finds the Range
With Tyler Johnson out due to a strained left shoulder, Wayne Ellington stepped up and filled the void nicely as the first guard off the bench. Per usual, Ellington showed his quick release on a number of catch-and-shoot jumpers. The 29-year-old ended up with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting and five rebounds.
Other Takeaways:
-While Hassan Whiteside punished the rim often in the first half thanks to some alley-oop jams, the big fella also came through with five points in the fourth quarter. In the period, Whiteside utilized his size advantage against Thon Maker and converted a tough shot over Antetokounmpo. The 27-year-old finished with 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting, 15 rebounds and two blocks.
-In just his second NBA game, Okaro White was tabbed with defending both Antetokounmpo and Parker at times. The former Florida State Seminole held up pretty well despite the tough assignments and showed his versatility. In all, White totaled three boards, one steal and a plus-six rating in 19 minutes of action.
Game Note:
-Tyler Johnson (strained left shoulder), Josh Richardson (left foot sprain), Justise Winslow (right shoulder surgery) and Josh McRoberts (left foot stress fracture) sat out.
Looking Ahead:
-The HEAT wraps up their homestand Monday night against the Warriors at 7:30 PM. Tickets for that game can be found here.
