The Miami HEAT fell to the Dallas Mavericks 83-64 Saturday night at COX Pavilion in the Samsung Las Vegas Summer League. Rodney McGruder led the way for the HEAT with 18 points.
1. McGruder Catches Fire
While McGruder did the majority of his damage from beyond the arc, he moved well without the ball and attacked the basket on a few occasions. In fact, he led the team with six free throws attempted.
Of course, he also remained disciplined defensively and made nothing come easy for whomever he guarded.
In short, McGruder’s versatility was on full display. The 24-year-old tallied three boards to go along with his team-high 18 points on 5-of-11 shooting.
2. Walker Keeps It Up
Like in his last outing against the Thunder, David Walker made some plays on both ends of the court on Saturday night.
Offensively, the guard did a little bit of everything. In addition to a couple 3-pointers, he also connected on a mid-range jumper and a nice dunk in transition.
That aforementioned dunk wouldn’t have been possible without some solid defense from Walker. To start the sequence with 28.6 seconds left in the first, the 22-year-old anticipated the pass from Kyle Collinsworth and deflected it. Once he gained possession just before half court, he passed it to Okaro White on his right. White then returned the favor and Walker threw it down.
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In all, the Northeastern product totaled 10 points and three steals.
3. Three-Point Barrage
As a whole, the HEAT did quite well from downtown. In large part due to McGruder, Miami shot 12-of-28 from distance (42.9 percent).
To nobody’s surprise, Victor Rudd also joined the fray. The forward out of South Florida hit his first four treys and finished with 14 points. He also led the team with six boards on the night.
Notes:
-Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson sat out.
-The HEAT’s next game will be on Monday, July 11 at 8:00 PM EST against the Denver Nuggets. Coverage can be found on ESPN2 and ESPN3.
