The Miami HEAT defeated the Sacramento Kings 116-109 Thursday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. Dwyane Wade led the way for the HEAT with 24 points, six assists and five boards.
1. The Captains Get It Done
Both Chris Bosh and Wade had strong performances against Sacramento. Bosh saved his best for last and scored 13 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter. On one play in particular with 3:28 to go in the contest, Wade found Bosh with an excellent pass after faking a jumper. Bosh grabbed the ball and flipped it up quickly after Omri Casspi fouled him. The big man converted the ensuing free throw to put Miami up 108-97.
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Throughout the game, Bosh was very crafty with a number of his usual head-fakes and pump-fakes. He shot 8-of-12 for his 23 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out four assists.
Wade, meanwhile, went to work in the second after a slow start to the game. In the quarter, he played extremely well on both ends and wrecked havoc against the Kings. While Wade scored nine points in the second quarter, he also setup his teammates with some excellent feeds. His playmaking ability was on full display Thursday night, as he rifled in a few passes through tight windows.
Wade carried over his hot shooting to the third quarter and converted a number of mid-range jumpers, including his patented bank shot. As mentioned before, Wade stuffed the stat sheet with 24 points, six assists and five rebounds.
2. Tyler Johnson Finds the Range
From the start, Johnson was locked-in from the perimeter. The second-year player hit his first five shots, with all of them coming from downtown or mid-range. His ability to convert catch-and-shoot jumpers has been huge for the HEAT this season. Johnson has shown great chemistry with Wade and Bosh, which is a contributing factor as to why he shot the ball well. The shooting guard finished with 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting and also dished out three assists.
3. Amar’e Stoudemire Makes His Home Debut
With Hassan Whiteside in some foul trouble early on, Stoudemire got a decent amount of playing time at the start of the game. Throughout the first quarter, the vet ran the pick-and-roll very well with both Goran Dragic and Johnson. Thanks to those plays, he converted two and-ones, including a tough fadeaway jumper over Kosta Koufos. Stoudemire certainly provided a spark for Miami and scored all 10 of his points in the first.
One of the better pick-and-rolls came with a shade under a minute left in the first quarter. Stoudemire set a screen for Johnson at the left wing and rolled to the hoop once Johnson drove inside. Johnson then found Stoudemire at the perfect time when Koufos came to contest him. From there, Stoudemire finished the easy slam.
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Other Takeaways:
-Whiteside did most of his damage in the third quarter, where he scored 10 points, grabbed five boards and blocked four shots. His most impressive play in the third came late in the period when he fought hard with Koufos for an offensive board, backed him down and spun right past him in the post for a huge dunk.
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-Miami is back in action on Saturday night against the Philadelphia 76ers for the sixth game of its season-long homestand.
