The Miami HEAT fell to the Brooklyn Nets 111-105 Monday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh each scored 24 points apiece for the HEAT.
1. Fire Keeps Burning for Bosh
You may have heard by now about Bosh’s torrid stretch his past four games. If you haven’t, well, you saw it once more on Monday against the Nets. Bosh connected on his first five shots and was instrumental in Miami’s offensive attack. Early on, the versatile big stretched the floor with a number of spot-up corner threes thanks to some solid ball movement by the HEAT.
Perhaps his best sequence came late in the third quarter where he nabbed two offensive boards and hit a 3-pointer after sizing-up Thomas Robinson on the right wing all on the same possession.
Bosh also had a great assist to Amar’e Stoudemire in the fourth quarter after he drove to the hoop and drew the defense. While the 31-year-old fought hard for loose balls down the stretch and gave it all he had, it unfortunately wasn’t enough this time around. In all, Bosh shot 7-of-8 for his 24 points, including a perfect 5-of-5 from downtown, and also grabbed 12 boards.
2. Hassan Whiteside Never Gives Up
With Brooklyn up and Bosh on the bench midway through the fourth quarter, Whiteside did his best to keep Miami in it. The big man battled fearlessly on the offensive glass and finished a bunch of second-chance opportunities for the HEAT. In fact, he grabbed three offensive rebounds and scored eight points in the fourth.
On the defensive end, Whiteside was a menace all game and swatted five shots. Two of those blocks came on jump shots from Jarrett Jack and Bojan Bogdanovic, respectively. In addition to those five blocks, the 26-year-old finished the game with 18 points and 11 rebounds (six offensive).
3. Quick Start for Wade
From the onset on Monday night, Wade simply looked like he was in another gear. The captain was very active on both ends and primarily did his damage in the paint thanks to some nifty drives to the rack. Like Bosh, Wade also hit his first five shots from the field and had a stellar first half.
Perhaps his best play of the night came with 4:26 to go in the first quarter when he received the ball on the left baseline. From there, he aggressively drove inside past Bogdanovic and threw it down over Brook Lopez with two hands.
Later in the game, Wade continued to attack and did all he could to try and will Miami to victory. The tri-captain shot 7-of-11 for his 24 points, including 10-of-12 from the charity stripe, and dished out six assists against the Nets.
Other Takeaways:
Game Notes: Justise Winslow (ankle) and Josh McRoberts (knee) sat out. Jarnell Stokes was also inactive.