The Miami HEAT defeated the Brooklyn Nets 109-106 Wednesday night at Barclays Center. Dion Waiters led the way for the HEAT with 24 points.
1. Waiters = Clutch
Well, Waiters did it again.
After nailing the game-winning 3-pointer against the Warriors, the 25-year-old continued to come up big in crunch time on Wednesday night. In fact, Waiters scored 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the fourth, including the huge three that put the HEAT up 107-103 with 6.8 seconds remaining.
Up until that point, Waiters had primarily attacked with some very tough finishes at the basket. In short, he had the whole repertoire on display against the Nets. In addition to his 24 points on 10-of-18 shooting, Waiters also tallied eight assists and five rebounds.
2. White Shows Wisdom Beyond His Years
While Okaro White played quite well in his first three games, he took it to a whole other level in his hometown of Brooklyn. To put it simply, the rookie played extremely well on both ends and showed his versatility quite often. White did tally a career-high 10 points, including a clutch corner three that put Miami up 102-101 with 58.6 seconds left, but his biggest contributions came on the defensive end.
The 24-year-old guarded a bunch of guys, mainly Trevor Booker, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Caris LeVert. He also came through with some superb help-side defense on Bojan Bogdanovic and Brook Lopez.
Let’s take a look at a prime example of White’s defensive prowess. With 3:07 to play in the fourth, Lopez received the ball near the right block and drove across the lane. Willie Reed contested it well, but White flew in to swat the shot and re-gain possession.
In addition to his 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting, the former Florida State Seminole also tallied seven rebounds, four blocks, one steal and one assist.
3. Dragic Sticks With It
Like Waiters, Goran Dragic saved his best for last and scored a majority of his points in the fourth. After running the offense very efficiently and setting up his teammates early on, the Slovenian scored seven points on 3-of-4 shooting in the final period.
Throughout the contest, Dragic utilized screens well and hit a few short jumpers in the lane. The Dragon finished with 17 points, nine rebounds, nine assists and two steals.
4. Reed Makes An Impact
With Hassan Whiteside struggling a bit, Reed came off the bench and provided instant energy for the HEAT. Per usual, Reed was active around the rim and drew a lot of contact inside. As such, he led Miami with eight free throw attempts on the evening.
What’s more, the big fella scored seven points in the fourth, including a vicious jam over Hollis-Jefferson.
On the flip side of the ball, Reed guarded Brook Lopez very well regardless of where he was on the court and helped limit him to just 2-of-10 shooting in the second half.
In all, the Saint Louis product scored 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting, grabbed four boards and tallied a team-high plus-34 rating.
Other Takeaways:
-Wayne Ellington got off to a very quick start against the Nets and drilled his first five shots, two of which came from beyond the arc. Throughout the contest, the swingman did a fantastic job of moving off the ball and being ready for the catch. Although he led the team with four 3-pointers, none were as big as the one he hit with 2:17 left to tie the game at 99. In all, Ellington scored 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting and grabbed four rebounds.
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:
-Up next for the HEAT are the Chicago Bulls on Friday at 8:00 PM. After that, Miami will head home to host the Detroit Pistons on Saturday at 7:30 PM.
