The Miami HEAT defeated the Utah Jazz 92-91 Thursday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. Chris Bosh led the way for the HEAT with 25 points and eight boards.
1. Bosh Attacks the Hoop
In the absence of Dwyane Wade, Bosh took it upon himself as one of the other captains on the team to keep things moving. Like on Tuesday night against the Lakers, Bosh was very aggressive. While he knocked down a few of his usual jumpers, he mainly attacked the basket against the Jazz. Bosh often took advantage of mismatches and blew by his man to get easy finishes to go.
One of Bosh’s niftier plays came with 8:23 left in the second quarter when he received the ball from Josh McRoberts on the right wing. Bosh got Trey Lyles to leave his feet with a pump fake before driving to the hoop. Bosh then avoided Alec Burks, who was coming over to contest, and got the up-and-under to go.
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Bosh also made some great defensive plays, including a huge block on a Gordon Hayward dunk attempt and another on Alec Burks late in the fourth to preserve the lead. The vet shot 50 percent for his 25 points and had four assists and four blocks in addition to his eight rebounds.
2. Tyler Johnson Puts On a Show
Johnson played like a man possessed on Thursday night. On both ends, he kept up the energy that we’re used to seeing from him. In the first half, he looked a lot like Goran Dragic with a one-man fast break and a tough, step-back mid-range jumper. As the game wore on, Johnson started to use his great defense to create some easy offense.
With 33.4 seconds to go in the third, he pinned Burks’ layup attempt against the backboard and Bosh corralled the rebound. Bosh then passed it to Johnson and the guard took care of the rest with an excellent finish over Lyles.
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Johnson totaled two blocks on the night and continued his defensive pressure throughout the contest. More importantly though, he knocked down a clutch jumper thanks to a Hassan Whiteside screen to put Miami up 88-84 with 38.1 seconds to play. In all, Johnson totaled 17 points, four rebounds and three assists to go along with his two blocks against Utah.
3. Dragic Takes Control Early
From the start, Dragic was engaged on Thursday night. The Slovenian looked in control early on in the game and drove baseline a few times to create for his teammates. Dragic looked like himself on the fast break in the first quarter before knocking down some mid-range jumpers in the third. He had 14 points, four assists, three boards and two steals against the Jazz.
Other Takeaways:
-While he didn’t notch a double-double this time around, Whiteside still made an impact on the game. The big man had plenty of finishes and put-back slams to the tune of nine points and 14 rebounds. He also swatted five shots, including an impressive one against Derrick Favors outside of the paint.
Let’s not forget this massive jam Whiteside had over Favors as well.
-In all, it was a scrappy, grind-it-out type of win for the HEAT against a tough Utah squad. After three straight wins, Miami won’t play again until Tuesday, November 17 against the Minnesota Timberwolves at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Game Note: Dwyane Wade (personal reasons) sat out.
