The Miami HEAT defeated the Houston Rockets 117-109 Wednesday night at Toyota Center. Hassan Whiteside led the way for the HEAT with 23 points.
1. Whiteside Does It All
In short, Whiteside had a quick start to the game and never looked back. Before committing his second foul with 5:24 left in the first quarter, the big fella scored six points on 3-of-3 shooting, blocked two shots and dished out an assist. Then when Whiteside reentered the game in the second quarter, he made his presence felt on the offensive glass, including one of his more impressive plays of the night.
With 3:28 left in the period, Whiteside engulfed the offensive board with one arm, gathered himself, absorbed contact from Nene and finished the play.
He wasn’t done there, though. Not by a long shot. As the night wore on, the 7-footer continued to wreak havoc on the glass and did damage offensively against both Nene and Clint Capela.
He also played superb defense down the stretch and came away with two blocks in the fourth quarter. In all, it was a complete performance for Whiteside, who finished with 14 rebounds and five blocks to go along with his 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting.
2. T. Johnson = All Hustle
By now you should know how hard Tyler Johnson plays night in and night out. That was on full display against Houston, especially in the second quarter. On one possession about midway through the period, the combo-guard tallied three offensive rebounds and got a put-back layup to fall.
Shortly thereafter with 4:52 left in the second, he grabbed yet another offensive board, this time drawing the foul on Corey Brewer before the finish.
While that was great, Johnson also came through in the fourth quarter and hit a few jumpers to keep Miami ahead. Not to mention, he also did a solid job of defending both Eric Gordon and James Harden at certain points in the contest. In all, Johnson scored 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out four assists.
3. Dragić Comes Through In The Clutch
While Goran Dragić played well through the first three quarters, his aggressiveness in the final period was vital in the win. In fact, the Slovenian scored 12 points in the fourth, as he relentlessly attacked the basket for some great finishes. None were as impressive as the nifty finger-roll he converted to put the HEAT up 111-101 with 2:14 left in the game.
Dragić finished with 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting and five assists.
Other Takeaways:
-Dion Waiters continued his barrage from downtown and led the team with four made 3-pointers on the night. Although that’s how he attacked the Rockets after halftime, the 25-year-old mixed things up earlier in the game with attacks to the rim and a pull-up jumper. On the flip side of the ball, he did a great job of limiting Trevor Ariza early on before making things as tough as possible on Harden in the fourth.
Waiters ended up with 23 points on 8-of-17 shooting, including 4-of-9 from deep, nine rebounds and seven assists.
-Miami displayed great ball movement all evening and tallied 27 assists. As a result, the team shot 52.4 percent against Houston.
Game Note:
-Josh Richardson (left foot sprain), Justise Winslow (right shoulder surgery) and Josh McRoberts (left foot stress fracture) sat out.
Looking Ahead:
-With the All-Star Break now upon us, the HEAT won’t play again until Friday, February 24 against the Hawks in Atlanta. After that, Miami will host the Pacers the following night. Tickets for the game against Indiana can be found here.