The Miami HEAT defeated the Houston Rockets 109-103 Tuesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. Goran Dragic led the way for the HEAT with 21 points and eight assists.
1. The Dragon Breathes Fire
Since Houston likes to play fast, Dragic was in a perfect situation to do some damage in transition. And that he did.
The Slovenian pushed the pace a bit more than usual given the opponent and either created for his teammates or completed the play himself. In particular, Dragic wreaked havoc in the fourth quarter and took advantage of the Rockets’ miscues. In the period, the point guard tallied six points, five assists and three rebounds.
Let’s take a look at one of those assists in the fourth. With 6:28 left in the quarter, Wayne Ellington back-tapped the ball to Dragic and it was off to the races. With Patrick Beverley and Trevor Ariza converging on him inside, he turned around and dished the ball to Tyler Johnson for the two-handed flush.
In addition to his 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting, Dragic also grabbed eight boards and led the team with eight assists.
2. Johnson & Johnson At It Again
Both T. Johnson and James Johnson continued to make a positive impact for the HEAT. On the offensive end, T. Johnson did the majority of his work in transition and made plays at the rim. Although that was important, the combo guard did a commendable job of defending James Harden when matched up with the MVP candidate. In all, T. Johnson tallied 16 points, three assists, three steals and two boards.
J. Johnson, meanwhile, made some great decisions with the ball in his hands. When he wasn’t dishing it out to his teammates, he was getting to the hoop both in the half court and in transition. The forward finished with 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
3. Waiters Aggressive From the Start
To put it simply, Dion Waiters was ultra aggressive on Tuesday night. For a majority of the contest, the 25-year-old relentlessly attacked the basket and finished among the trees. In fact, five of his seven made field goals were in the restricted area.
While Waiters converted a nifty and-one in the second quarter, perhaps his most impressive drive came a little earlier. With 1:11 to play in the first period, he took Ariza off the dribble, protected the ball against Sam Dekker and finished the tough layup over Nene.
Waiters continued to put pressure on Houston and ended up with 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting, five boards and three assists.
4. Quick Start for Whiteside
Hassan Whiteside was engaged from the opening tip, as the big fella found success early on against both Clint Capela and Montrezl Harrell. Throughout the contest, the 7-footer used his size advantage (weight-wise) and converted a number of nifty hook-shots against the Rockets. Of course, the big fella also fought hard on the offensive glass, including one play late in the second quarter.
With 4:33 left in the period, Waiters launched from deep and missed, but Whiteside sprinted inside from the top of the arc, secured the rebound and finished the play over Capela.
In total, Whiteside scored 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, grabbed a team-high 15 rebounds (four offensive), blocked a shot and came up with a steal in 33 minutes of action.
Other Takeaways:
-Ellington caught fire from the perimeter and never looked back. While he nailed five 3-pointers on the night, none were bigger than the one he hit with 1:41 remaining to put the HEAT up 105-94. Ellington finished with 18 points and four rebounds on 6-of-11 shooting, including 5-of-9 from downtown.
-Miami played very well defensively against one of the best offensive teams in the league and held Houston to 40 percent shooting from the field.
Game Note:
-Josh Richardson (left foot sprain), Justise Winslow (right shoulder surgery) and Josh McRoberts (left foot stress fracture) sat out.
Looking Ahead:
-Up next for the HEAT are the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night at 7:30 PM.
