The Miami HEAT defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 94-88 in overtime Friday afternoon at AmericanAirlines Arena. Chris Bosh led the way for the HEAT with 30 points and 10 rebounds.
1. Bosh Brings It Home
While Bosh missed some shots in the contest that he usually makes, he stuck with it and connected when it mattered most. The 31-year-old scored 14 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and overtime period combined and had plenty of opportunities off the pick-and-pop. Bosh also had the tough assignment of guarding Anthony Davis for most of the game, which likely took up a lot of energy. Still, he fought through it and remained aggressive taking it to the hoop in overtime.
View a Clutch And-One from Bosh
In addition to his 30 points and 10 boards, Bosh also had four assists and a steal.
2. Whiteside a Beast on the Boards
Despite some foul trouble, Whiteside still made sure his presence was felt on Friday. The big man battled down low against Omer Asik and grabbed six offensive rebounds in all. Whiteside also had a nifty tip-in and knocked down a mid-range jumper against the Pelicans. In total, he had eight points, 17 rebounds and four blocks.
3. HEAT’s Defense Comes to Play
While Miami struggled from the field as a team, it held its own on the defensive end. The HEAT held New Orleans to 40 percent shooting on the afternoon. In particular, Justise Winslow made some impressive defensive plays. In the third quarter, he had good position in the post to hinder an alley-oop for Davis and later defended Ryan Anderson well in the post too. Winslow also had this great block on Eric Gordon, which caused the ball to ricochet off the backboard.
Additionally, Gerald Green came up with a fantastic steal towards the end of the fourth quarter where he swiped an errant pass from Tyreke Evans and finished the play on the other end to put the HEAT up 78-76 with 48.3 seconds left in the quarter.
4. Wade in the Holiday Spirit Early
Wade got off to a pretty quick start in his eleventh Christmas Day game. The vet scored 11 of his 19 points in the first half on 5-of-10 shooting. Throughout the game, Wade mixed it up with some great drives to the rack and mid-range jumpers.
One of his prettiest drives came with 8:16 to go in the first quarter when he received the ball on the left wing. Wade then drove inside, hit the spin-cycle on Alonzo Gee and finished the finger roll.
View the Play
Wade also tallied six boards and four assists to go along with his 19 points against the Pelicans.
Game Notes:
-Tyler Johnson (shoulder) and Josh McRoberts (knee) sat out.
-With the win, Miami improved to 10-2 on Christmas Day. Next up will be the Orlando Magic on Saturday night at 7:00 PM from Amway Center.
