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HEAT 94 - 76ers 101 Game Recap

The Miami HEAT fell to the Philadelphia 76ers 101-94 Monday night at Wells Fargo Center. Hassan Whiteside led the way for the HEAT with a career-high 32 points.

1. Whiteside Sets a Career-High

From the opening tip, you could tell that Whiteside was simply in another gear. Whether it was finishing plays with contact, throwing down thunderous jams or altering shots at the rim, the 7-footer did it well.

Not to mention, Whiteside was matched-up with Joel Embiid for a good portion of the contest. One of his best plays of the night came early on against the 22-year-old. With 8:25 left in the first quarter, Whiteside did a nice job of boxing-out Embiid and grabbed the offensive rebound. From there, he brought the ball down, took a dribble and converted the put-back despite getting whacked by Embiid.

Those kinds of and-ones would continue as the game progressed, especially in the third quarter. Whiteside showed his strength often in the period, scoring 12 points and grabbing three boards. In all, it was a fantastic outing for the 27-year-old, who grabbed 13 boards and blocked two shots to go along with his career-high 32 points on 13-of-19 shooting against the 76ers.

2. Waiters Aggressive

While Dion Waiters had a solid first half, he really started to get going in the third quarter. In the period, Waiters scored 10 points on 3-of-5 shooting. As a whole, the dynamic two-guard relentlessly attacked the basket both in the half court and in transition.

For a prime example of that, look no further than this play with 6:15 to go in the third. Once Waiters grabbed the long rebound, he took it up court, hit Covington with the crossover, absorbed contact from the forward and converted the layup.

Waiters finished with 19 points, five assists and three boards in his hometown of Philadelphia.

3. McGruder Keeps Up His Activity

As usual, Rodney McGruder did all the little things that won’t necessarily show up on the box score. In the second quarter alone, the 25-year-old had a nice back-tap to save a possession and a tough steal that led to a layup for Waiters in transition.

Throughout the contest, McGruder hustled very hard and came away with four offensive rebounds. In all, he totaled five points and seven boards in 18 minutes of action.

Other Takeaways:

-Although Goran Dragić struggled a bit from the field, he started to get going after halftime. That said, he set up his teammates very well and led the team with seven assists. The Slovenian also scored 10 points, grabbed four boards and stole the ball three times on Monday night.

Game Note:

-Willie Reed (hyperextended right knee), Justise Winslow (sore left wrist) and Wayne Ellington (right thigh contusion) sat out.

Looking Ahead:

-The HEAT will now head to Detroit for a matchup with the Pistons on Wednesday at 7:30 PM.