The Miami HEAT fell to the Trail Blazers 99-92 Saturday night at Moda Center. Hassan Whiteside led the way for the HEAT with 28 points and 16 rebounds.
1. Whiteside Empties the Tank
After not scoring as much as he's used to against Utah, Whiteside flipped the script against Portland. In fact, the 7-footer hit his first seven shots thanks to a few jumpers and his usual hook-shots inside. On the flip side of the ball, he protected the rim very well and altered a number of shots.
That wasn't all to Whiteside's performance, though. Not by a long shot. Since Miami didn't have that many players available once James Johnson got ejected with two technical fouls at the end of the third quarter, Whiteside played nearly the entire second half. Despite getting just a few short rests after halftime, the 27-year-old still tallied eight points, seven boards (two offensive) and a block in the fourth. In short, it was a valiant effort for Whiteside. In addition to his 28 points on 12-of-16 shooting and 16 rebounds, the former Marshall standout also blocked five shots on the evening.
2. Dragic Flirts With A Triple-Double
To put it simply, Goran Dragic continued his assault into the paint and finished a bunch of plays at the rim on Saturday night. He also probed his dribble often and looked to create for his teammates whenever the Trail Blazers packed the paint.
While the Slovenian had a good first half, he did a lot of damage in the third quarter. Dragic had eight points and two rebounds in the period, as he mixed up his attacks with a few jumpers as well.
In all, the point guard tallied 18 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in 35 minutes of action.
3. McRoberts Aggressive Again
After a solid performance against the Jazz on Thursday, Josh McRoberts continued to look for his shot against Portland. In fact, the 29-year-old scored a season-high 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
One of his best plays of the night came late in the second quarter. With 1:46 left in the period, McRoberts received a pass from Dragic after cutting along the baseline. From there, the forward took a dribble, got Mason Plumlee in the air with a pump-fake and finished the play with contact.
On the defensive end, McRoberts made a few nice plays early on in the fourth quarter. With 10:36 remaining in the period, he slid over to force a miss on Allen Crabbe inside. Shortly thereafter, he broke up a lob from Meyers Leonard intended for Maurice Harkless.
In addition to his 13 points, McRoberts also dished out four assists, grabbed two boards and tallied a team-high plus-17 rating.
Game Note:
-Luke Babbitt (right hip flexor) did not play. Josh Richardson (sprained right ankle), Dion Waiters (pectineus tear) and Justise Winslow (sore left wrist) are all undergoing treatment in Miami.
Looking Ahead:
-Up next for the HEAT are the Knicks on Tuesday at 7:30 PM. Tickets for that game at AmericanAirlines Arena can be found here.
