The Miami HEAT defeated the Phoenix Suns 103-95 Friday night at Talking Stick Resort Arena. Dwyane Wade led the way for the HEAT with 27 points.
1. Wade Seals It
Quite simply, Wade kicked it into high gear for most of the game, especially in the first half. It was the fourth quarter, though, where he really shined. Wade poured in nine of his 27 points in the fourth thanks to some crafty moves against Devin Booker. The vet responded very well to a clean, hard foul by the rookie and closed out the game well for the HEAT. In all, Wade shot 9-of-14 for his 27 points and also had two boards and two assists on the night.
Early on, the 33-year-old got out in transition to either finish himself or set up his teammates. On one play in the second quarter, he swiped an errant pass from Booker, raced down court and threw up a perfect lob for Gerald Green, who threw it down with authority.
While that play was excellent, that wasn’t even the best play of the quarter for Wade. With 2:41 left in the first half, he backed-down Brandon Knight, faked the baseline drive, hit him with the spin move and threw it down with both hands.
Wade had a fantastic first half, scoring 14 points and dishing out both of his assists on 5-of-7 shooting. Thanks to that, Miami closed the second quarter on a 24-9 run and entered halftime with a 53-40 advantage.
2. Former Suns Play Well in Return to the Desert
Although Wade was instrumental down the stretch, the HEAT wouldn’t have been in a position to win the game had it not been for Green and Goran Dragic. The duo connected in transition a few times, but no sequence was as crucial as the one they had with less than five minutes to go in the game.
First, Green found Dragic with a difficult cross-court pass for the corner three. Then on the following possession, Dragic returned the favor and dished it to Green for a three to give Miami an 89-87 lead that it wouldn’t relinquish.
In the contest, Dragic mainly did damage from the perimeter, but he also attacked the basket when the opportunity presented itself. He facilitated very well and led the team with seven assists to go along with his 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting.
Green, meanwhile, did a decent amount of his scoring in transition thanks to Dragic and Wade. He also drilled a number of mid-range jumpers and defended quite well against the Suns. The swingman finished the game with 21 points, four rebounds and three assists on 7-of-11 shooting.
3. Defense Key in the Fourth
Miami locked in defensively in the fourth quarter, where it held Phoenix to just 39.1 percent shooting. In particular, Justise Winslow did a good job staying with his man. Additionally, the rookie worked hard on the glass and nabbed 10 boards.
Thanks to the solid defense, the HEAT got a lot of looks in transition, as they scored 27 fast break points on Friday night.
Game Notes: Josh McRoberts (knee) sat out. Josh Richardson and Jarnell Stokes (assigned to Sioux Falls) were also inactive.
