The Miami HEAT fell to the Golden State Warriors 111-103 Monday night at Oracle Arena. Dwyane Wade led the way for the HEAT with 20 points and 11 assists.
1. Never Quit
All things considered, Miami played well against the best team in the NBA. The HEAT tallied 31 assists on 41 made field goals and committed only 11 turnovers. For a large part of the game, Miami matched Golden State’s pace and found some success. Dwyane Wade led the charge in pushing tempo and impacted the game in more ways than one. He created very well for his teammates and fought hard until the very end. Earlier in the contest, the vet went to work quite often in the post against Klay Thompson. In addition to his 20 points and 11 assists, Wade also grabbed seven rebounds.
After the Warriors went on a run in the third quarter to go up by 10 points, both Gerald Green and Tyler Johnson continued to chip away at the lead. Green hit two threes and had a tough and-one bank shot shot en-route to a nine-point period. Johnson, meanwhile, made some nifty cuts to the rim and scored five of his 13 points in the quarter. Thanks to the duo, Miami closed the third on a 13-7 run to cut the deficit to just three points. Then after falling behind by 13 with 4:52 left in the game, Luol Deng responded to get the HEAT within six. Deng scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth and mixed up his approach with tough drives and 3-pointers.
2. Chris Bosh Locked In Early
Additionally, Bosh ran the pick-and-roll with Wade a few times. Perhaps the most impressive one came with 5:09 left in the first half when Bosh set a screen on Brandon Rush and rolled to the hoop. From there, Wade took a dribble inside to draw in Bogut and hit Bosh with an excellent pocket pass. Bosh then got the layup to go and-one.
The 31-year-old was simply fantastic through the first two quarters, as he scored 13 points and grabbed five boards on 6-of-11 shooting during that stretch. In all, he ended up with 15 points, 12 rebounds and four assists on the night.
3. Justise Winslow’s First Career Start
With Hassan Whiteside out with a knee injury, Bosh slid down to the center spot and Winslow was inserted into the starting lineup. For a majority of the contest, the rookie did a good job on Thompson. He also guarded Andre Iguodala, Harrison Barnes and Shaun Livingston at times. On the flip side of the ball, the 19-year-old scored seven points off a catch-and-shoot three, a pull-up jumper and a dunk. Winslow’s versatility on the defensive end has definitely been a valuable asset for the HEAT thus far.
Game Notes: Josh McRoberts (knee) and Hassan Whiteside (knee) sat out. Jarnell Stokes (assigned to Sioux Falls) was also inactive.