The Miami HEAT defeated the Brooklyn Nets 104-98 Wednesday night at Barclays Center. Dwyane Wade led the way for the HEAT with 28 points.
1. Wade Has One of Those Nights
Although Wade missed Wednesday morning’s shootaround due to an illness, you wouldn’t have noticed by the way he played in Brooklyn. Wade was simply in attack mode from the onset, as he poured in 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the first quarter alone.
Perhaps his most nifty play in the first came with less than two minutes to go in the period when he drove inside from the left wing against Bojan Bogdanovic. After getting past Bogdanovic, Wade slid to the floor. However, he kept his dribble, re-gathered the ball once more and got the shot to go despite the contest by Brook Lopez.
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While Wade had a great first quarter, his biggest contribution came in the fourth as the Nets were mounting a comeback. He scored 10 of his 28 points in the period and had the mid-range jumper going. He also swatted two shots in the fourth, with none as impressive as the one he had with 4:46 to play.
On that block, Wade came from behind to deny a jumper from Lopez. From there, Luol Deng came up with the ball and threw it up ahead to Goran Dragic sprinting down court for the layup.
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In addition to his 28 points on 13-of-17 shooting, Wade also grabbed five boards and blocked three shots on the night.
2. Hassan Whiteside Feasts
From the jump, Whiteside seemed to be in another gear on Wednesday night. He fought hard against Lopez and grabbed three offensive rebounds at the beginning of the first quarter. Whiteside also displayed a number of great post moves against the Nets and kept their defense on its heels. While Wade primarily set him up as usual, Dragic also made a few nifty passes to the big man.
While he made the most of those passes with hook shots and reverse layups, Whiteside also had a few massive put-back jams. Take for instance this one in the third where he stuffed it home after Dragic missed the shot. Whiteside’s ability to create second-chance opportunities for the HEAT has been invaluable. The 26-year-old finished the game with 20 points, 13 boards (five offensive) and a block.
3. The Bench Comes Through
Justise Winslow and Gerald Green provided a spark off the bench for Miami, especially in the first half. Winslow connected on all three of his 3-pointers, as his teammates did a good job of finding him spotting up in his comfort zones. On the flip side, the rookie also did a good job of guarding multiple players throughout the game, including Joe Johnson. In all, Winslow totaled 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting and eight rebounds.
Green, meanwhile, mixed it up with a few drives, tough mid-range jumpers and a pair of threes. He finished the game with 13 points and two assists.
Game Note: Josh McRoberts (bruised knee) and Jarnell Stokes were inactive.
