The Miami HEAT defeated the Utah Jazz 84-74 Friday night at Vivint Smart Home
Arena. Dion Waiters led the way for the HEAT with 21 points.
1. Waiters = Clutch
There are few players in the league who you can block out everything and get the
job done in crunch time regardless of what’s happened earlier.
Dion Waiters is one of those players.
Despite a rough start, the 25-year-old had a hand in Miami’s final 15 points of
the game, including this extremely difficult three to tie the game at 74:
In addition to his 21 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, Waiters also
had two boards, an assist and a team-high plus-24 rating.
2. Whiteside Goes Off In The Third
After a slow start to the contest, Hassan Whiteside changed the complexion of
the game in the third quarter. Throughout the period, he showed great awareness
on both ends of the floor.
Whether he was giving the HEAT second-chance opportunities with offensive
rebounds and slams…
…or reading Utah’s passes and creating buckets in transition for his
teammates…
…the big fella shined in the third quarter with four points, 11 rebounds, two
steals, and a block.
When it was all said and done, Whiteside totaled eight points, a team-high 20
rebounds (five offensive), three steals and three blocks.
3. TJ Active On Both Ends
Tyler Johnson was ready to rock the moment he checked into the game, as he led
the team with 10 points in the first half thanks to a few threes. While that was
important, Johnson’s energy and hustle on the defensive end later in the game
certainly paid dividends.
In addition to helping on the defensive glass, he also came away with two
blocks, including this emphatic swat on Ricky Rubio:
Johnson ended up with 11 points, four rebounds and an assist to go along with
those two aforementioned blocks.
Other Takeaways:
-Like Waiters, Goran Dragic also played his best in the fourth and finished with
18 points and three assists.
-Miami played stifling defense in the second half and held the Jazz to a paltry
4-of-33 shooting (12.1 percent).
Game Note:
-Rodney McGruder (left tibia surgery), Derrick Walton Jr. (Sioux Falls
assignment), A.J. Hammons (Sioux Falls assignment) and Matt Williams Jr. (Sioux
Falls assignment) were inactive.
Looking Ahead:
-The HEAT’s final game of their season-long road trip will be on Sunday against
the Pistons at 4:00 PM. Miami’s next home tilt will be on Wednesday, Nov. 15
against the Wizards at 7:30 PM. Tickets for that game at AmericanAirlines Arena
can be found here.
Player: Goran Dragic
Player: Tyler Johnson
Player: Dion Waiters
Player: Hassan Whiteside
Media Content: http://www.nba.com/heat/newsrecap/heat-84-jazz-74-game-recap
Media Keywords: NBA, Sports, Miami Heat, Goran Dragic, Tyler Johnson, Dion
Waiters, Hassan Whiteside, Miami Heat
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Taxonomy: Game Recap
Story Link: http://www.nba.com/heat/newsrecap/heat-84-jazz-74-game-recap
