The Miami HEAT defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 112-102 Friday night at Wells Fargo Center. Dwyane Wade led the way for the HEAT with 21 points.
1. Wade Does It All
Quite simply, it was a workmanlike approach for Wade on Friday night. Throughout the contest, the vet relentlessly attacked the basket and got to the free-throw line often. With the 76ers mounting a comeback in the third quarter, Wade went to work and scored nine points in the period.
Perhaps his best play of the sequence came with 2:58 to go in the third when he backed-down Hollis Thompson in the paint. Wade then turned to his left, absorbed contact from Thompson and finished the nifty shot.
On the flip side of the ball, he read the passing lanes and got Miami out in transition on a few occasions. In short, Wade filled the stat sheet with eight boards, four assists and three steals to go along with his 21 points.
2. Green Finds His Stroke
Gerald Green got into a very nice rhythm in the fourth quarter and hit some big shots against Philadelphia. In turn, the swingman scored all 12 of his points in the final period and helped the HEAT stay ahead. Green got started with a few mid-range jumpers before knocking down two 3-pointers, one of which came in transition.
A big reason why he was able to convert from the perimeter was because of Goran Dragic. In fact, the Slovenian assisted on all but one of Green’s field goals. Dragic led the team with 11 assists in addition to his 15 points.
3. The Bigs Feast
As been the case for the past few games, both Hassan Whiteside and Amar’e Stoudemire proved to be a difficult one-two punch for the opposition.
As usual, Whiteside fought hard on the offensive glass and gave Miami some second-chance opportunities. He also did a good job of rolling to the rim and being ready for feeds from his teammates.
One thing we’ve seen a lot of lately is both he and Dragic on the same page. The duo connected quite a few times on Friday night, with no play as impressive as the one that came with 3:07 left in the first quarter. To start the sequence, Dragic drove inside from the left wing and flipped up a lob for Whiteside. The big man had to reach very high, but he still finished the difficult one-handed alley-oop jam.
On the defensive end, Whiteside continued to protect the rim and altered plenty of shots. The 26-year-old finished with 19 points, 19 rebounds (four offensive) and two blocks, while shooting 6-of-11 from the field and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe.
Stoudemire, meanwhile, got the HEAT off on the right foot with a great start offensively. In fact, he scored eight points in the first quarter thanks to his constant movement. While the vet had to exit the game after getting hit on the head on one of his finishes inside, he returned to action in the second quarter. In all, STAT had 12 points and four rebounds on 4-of-5 shooting.
Game Note: Chris Bosh and Tyler Johnson (shoulder surgery) sat out.