The Miami HEAT defeated the Dallas Mavericks 106-82 Friday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. Hassan Whiteside led the way for the HEAT with 25 points and 19 rebounds.
1. Monster First Half for Whiteside
Against a tough center in Zaza Pachulia, Whiteside played quite well and had a fantastic start to the contest. In the first half, he fought hard on the glass for some second-chance opportunities and also knocked down three mid-range jumpers. Later in the second quarter, both he and Dwyane Wade ran the pick-and-roll to perfection as usual. Whiteside simply filled the stat sheet with 18 points and 13 boards through two quarters.
The 26-year-old kept at it in the second half and started to alter shots at the rim a bit more. Oh, he also hit his fourth jumper of the game late in the final quarter. In total, Whiteside ended up shooting a very efficient 12-of-16 for his 25 points to go along with his 19 rebounds.
2. Sharp Defense
While the Mavericks missed some solid looks early on, the HEAT forced Dallas into some tougher shots in the second half. In particular, Miami really amped up the pressure in the third quarter, where the Mavericks shot just 30.4 percent. The HEAT closed out well and were pretty quick on their defensive rotations. There were a few instances where Luol Deng did a good job of getting in Dirk Nowitzki’s airspace to force a difficult shot. In all, Dallas shot 36.4 percent for the game. When you consider that the Mavericks were ranked fifth in offensive efficiency entering the night, Miami’s feat seems even more impressive.
3. Goran Dragic Kicks Things Off
With Dwyane Wade out for the first 16 minutes of the game, Dragic took control and looked very sharp against the Mavericks. He mainly attacked from outside in the first half and also set up his teammates very well off the drive-and-kick. Of course, Dragic had a beautiful finish in transition too thanks to Beno Udrih.
On that play with 9:56 to go in the second quarter, Udrih grabbed the defensive rebound and quickly brought it down court. Dragic raced past him like a speeding bullet, which prompted Udrih to pass it. From there, Dragic hit J.J. Barea with the nifty move and avoided Chandler Parsons before he converted the reverse layup.
View the Play
On the defensive end, the Slovenian was quite aggressive in the passing lanes throughout. Dragic finished the contest with 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting, seven assists and four rebounds.
Other Takeaways:
-As mentioned before, Wade missed the first 16 minutes of action due to flu-like symptoms. As a result, he was very patient and let the game come to him. Wade also looked to facilitate early on and created well for others to keep them headed in the right direction. Late in the third quarter, the vet started to get hot from the perimeter and converted some tough jumpers from the wing. Wade tallied 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting and seven assists in a little less than 19 minutes of action.
-Gerald Green hit his first shot attempt against the Mavericks and never looked back. He went 2-of-4 from distance and did the bulk of his damage in the fourth quarter. Thanks to some aggressive drives to the rim, Green poured in 11 of his 19 points in the final period to ensure the victory for the HEAT.
Game Notes:
-Justise Winslow (ankle) was active, but did not play.
-Josh McRoberts (knee), Josh Richardson and Jarnell Stokes (assigned to Sioux Falls) were inactive.
