The Miami HEAT fell to the Detroit Pistons 112-103 Sunday afternoon at Little
Caesars Arena. Hassan Whiteside led the way for the HEAT with 20 points.
1. Whiteside Gets Going After Halftime
After a slow start to the game, Whiteside came out with a vengeance in the
second half. In fact, the big fella scored 18 of his 20 points after halftime,
including this nifty and-one drive against Andre Drummond.
While Whiteside’s scoring was important, one of his more impressive sequences
naturally came on the defensive end:
After rotating well to block Reggie Bullock, he inhibited Drummond from
converting the tip-in on Bullock’s second attempt and then absorbed contact from
the Pistons’ center, which gave possession back to the HEAT.
In addition to his team-high 20 points on 9-of-16 shooting, Whiteside also led
the team with 12 rebounds and two blocks.
2. Richardson Continues To Show His Two-Way Ability
Josh Richardson got off to a quick start early on thanks to Miami’s pristine
ball movement, as he knocked down a bunch of shots from the perimeter.
That said, he also came though with this nice and-one finish in the second
quarter:
On the flip side of the ball, Richardson competed hard against a tough cover in
Reggie Jackson for most of the contest.
You also can’t forget about this great two-handed block on Luke Kennard late in
the third:
In all, Richardson tallied 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting, five boards, four
assists and a steal to go along with that aforementioned block.
3. Quick Start For Dragic
Goran Dragic had it all going in the first quarter. How so?
Well, he scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, dished out two assists and even
blocked Ish Smith on a reverse layup attempt in the period:
While Dragic didn’t score that much later in the game, he still created well for
his teammates.
When it was all said and done, the Slovenian totaled 18 points, a team-high
seven assists and four rebounds in addition to that previously mentioned block
on Smith.
Other Takeaways:
-Dion Waiters had a nice surge in the second quarter with some great plays in
transition, including this huge jam with Bullock and Tobias Harris in the
vicinity:
Otherwise, Waiters set up his teammates with some great feed feeds and had some
nice deflections on the defensive end.
The 25-year-old ended up with 16 points, five assists and three steals.
Game Note:
-Rodney McGruder (left tibia surgery), Derrick Walton Jr. (coach’s decision),
A.J. Hammons (Sioux Falls assignment) and Matt Williams Jr. (Sioux Falls
assignment) were inactive.
Looking Ahead:
-The HEAT will finally return home after a season-long six-game road trip, in
which they finished 3-3. Miami will be back in action on Wednesday at 7:30 PM
against the Washington Wizards. Tickets for that game at AmericanAirlines Arena
can be found here.
Player: Goran Dragic
Player: Josh Richardson
Player: Dion Waiters
Player: Hassan Whiteside
Media Content: http://www.nba.com/heat/newsrecap/heat-103-pistons-112-game-recap
Media Keywords: NBA, Sports, Miami Heat, Goran Dragic, Josh Richardson, Dion
Waiters, Hassan Whiteside, Miami Heat
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Taxonomy: Game Recap
Story Link: http://www.nba.com/heat/newsrecap/heat-103-pistons-112-game-recap
