The Miami HEAT defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 104-101 Sunday afternoon at
STAPLES Center. Hassan Whiteside led the way for the HEAT with 21 points and 17
rebounds.
1. Whiteside Dominates
Whiteside sure loves to play the Clippers.
Like he has in previous meetings with the franchise, the 7-footer impacted the
game on both ends of the floor. After breaking up three lob attempts in the
first half, Whiteside continued his strong defensive play in the third quarter
with this great block on Austin Rivers:
That said, his most impactful play on that end came with three seconds left in
the game when he forced a miss from Blake Griffin on a jumper that would have
put Los Angeles ahead.
A little earlier in the fourth, Whiteside came through with this huge alley-oop
to stop the Clippers’ momentum.
As you can see, the big fella did it all. In addition to his team-high 21 points
on 9-of-16 shooting and 17 rebounds, Whiteside also accumulated three steals and
two blocks.
2. JJ Seals It
With Miami down late in the fourth, James Johnson hit two clutch free throws to
put the HEAT up 102-101 with 8.7 seconds left.
Throughout the afternoon, Johnson initiated offense, took advantage of
mismatches such as this one…
…and also played great defense on Griffin.
Johnson finished with 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting and five assists.
3. Scorching Start For TJ
Tyler Johnson had one heck of a start to the contest, as he scored 16 points on
6-of-10 shooting in the first half. Throughout the first two quarters, Johnson
hounded Lou Williams and also took advantage of L.A.’s turnovers with a handful
of threes in transition.
As the game progressed, the 25-year-old continued to play good defense, as
evident by this steal and score late in the third quarter:
Johnson ended up with 19 points, three assists and three steals.
4. 3llington…Plus A Little More
While Wayne Ellington did his usual damage from downtown and led the team with
five made 3-pointers, you’ll never guess what else he did:
In all, Ellington tallied 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting.
Other Takeaways:
-From the opening tip, Josh Richardson was extremely active on the defensive
end, as he got his hands in the passing lanes and created a bunch of transition
opportunities for the HEAT.
His most impressive sequence came with 2:39 remaining in the fourth when he hit
a big 3-pointer and then forced a miss from Griffin on the other end.
Richardson finished with 14 points, four assists, three steals and a team-high
plus-15 rating.
-Okaro White competed very well against Griffin and even drew a charge on the
28-year-old in the third. When it was all said and done, White had three points
and three boards.
Game Note:
-Dion Waiters (birth of daughter), Rodney McGruder (left tibia surgery), A.J.
Hammons (Sioux Falls assignment) and Matt Williams Jr. (Sioux Falls assignment)
were inactive.
Looking Ahead:
-The HEAT will get right back to it Monday night against the Golden State
Warriors at 10:30 PM. Miami won’t be back in action at the AmericanAirlines
Arena until Nov. 15 against the Washington Wizards. Tickets for that game can be
found here.
Player: Wayne Ellington
Player: James Johnson
Player: Tyler Johnson
Player: Josh Richardson
Player: Okaro White
Player: Hassan Whiteside
Media Content:
http://www.nba.com/heat/newsrecap/heat-104-clippers-101-game-recap
Media Keywords: NBA, Sports, Miami Heat, Wayne Ellington, James Johnson, Tyler
Johnson, Josh Richardson, Okaro White, Hassan Whiteside, Miami Heat
Media Thumbnail:
http://i.cdn.turner.com/drp/nba/heat/sites/default/files/760×442-ws-lac-171105.jp
g
Taxonomy: Game Recap
Story Link: http://www.nba.com/heat/newsrecap/heat-104-clippers-101-game-recap
