The Miami HEAT defeated the Charlotte Hornets 123-91 Sunday night at AmericanAirlines Arena in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round. Luol Deng led the way for the HEAT with 31 points on 11-of-13 shooting. Miami now leads the series 1-0.
1. Deng Catches Fire
Being a veteran, Deng understands that momentum is very important in a playoff series and that every possession matters. With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that Deng was locked-in from the start against the Hornets and connected on his first six shots on Sunday night. While his contribution in the first half was superb, the 31-year-old simply remained hot throughout the contest.
In fact, Deng narrowly missed a playoff career-high in points. He ended up so close to reaching that mark since most of his damage came from beyond the arc off good ball movement from the HEAT. Speaking of which, Miami tallied 27 assists on the night and shot 57.6 percent as a result.
Otherwise, Deng continued to fight on the offensive glass and remained strong on the defensive end. In addition to his 31 points, the former Blue Devil also had seven boards (three offensive) and shot 4-of-6 from long-range.
2. Hot Start for Whiteside
It would be an understatement to say that Hassan Whiteside made an impact in his first career playoff game. The big man was engaged and set the tone early for the HEAT, totaling 10 points, three boards and a block on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting in the opening period. Early on, he did a decent amount of damage off the pick-and-roll thanks to setting solid screens for both Dwyane Wade and Goran Dragic.
On one of those plays with 5:24 to play in the first quarter, Whiteside set a screen for Wade at the left elbow and rolled to the rim. Once Wade noticed that Al Jefferson came to contest, he rifled a pass inside to Whiteside for the easy jam.
Of course, the former Marshall standout also protected the rim quite well and played a part in the Hornets shooting just 35.7 percent in the first period.
In all, the 26-year-old totaled 21 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks on 9-of-11 shooting.
3. Wade’s Time
Wade seems to turn on a switch during the playoffs, doesn’t he?
Regardless, the three days between games seemed to work wonders for the vet, as he had it all going on against Charlotte. From turnaround mid-range jumpers to cuts and post-ups inside, the Hornets had no answer for Wade.
While the 34-year-old did well against a solid defender in Courtney Lee, he also attacked Jeremy Lin on a few occasions. On one such instance with 6:50 to play in the second quarter, Wade drove inside from the baseline against Lin and hit him with the spin move at the right block. He then finished the difficult play in traffic to keep building on the lead.
Wade finished with 16 points, seven assists, four rebounds and a team-leading plus-28 rating.
Other Takeaways:
-Justise Winslow had a solid outing against Charlotte on Sunday night. The rookie found himself guarding Nicolas Batum a few times and also came through with some nifty finishes on fellow top-ten draft pick Frank Kaminsky.
On one of those sequences with 9:29 left in the second quarter, Winslow hit Kaminsky with the Wade-like Euro-step in transition before finishing the layup to put Miami up 45-28.
Winslow ended up with eight points and four boards on 4-of-6 shooting.
Game Notes:
-The HEAT’s 123 points and 49 made field goals are both franchise records for a playoff game.
-Chris Bosh and Tyler Johnson (shoulder) sat out.