The Miami HEAT defeated the Indiana Pacers 113-95 Saturday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. Hassan Whiteside and Dion Waiters each led the way with 22 points apiece.
1. Waiters Stays Aggressive
To put it simply, Waiters was in attack mode from start to finish against the Pacers. Time and time again, the 25-year-old got a step on his man and converted tough finishes at the rim. One of his more impressive plays came just about midway through the second quarter.
With 5:25 left in the period, Waiters made his move from the left wing and drove past Glenn Robinson III. Once the guard approached the paint, he contorted his body, absorbed contact from Thaddeus Young and hit the shot. He also nailed the ensuing free throw to cut Indiana’s lead to eight.
Later in the game, Waiters got hot from the perimeter and drilled a 3-pointer that essentially sealed the deal with 1:23 remaining in the fourth. In addition to his 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting, the former Syracuse star also tallied three assists and two rebounds.
2. J. Johnson Goes Off In The Second Half
Although it took a little while for James Johnson to get going, boy did he ever. The 30-year-old simply wreaked havoc in the second half, as he totaled nine points, six boards and five assists after halftime. Johnson did a little bit of everything during the flurry, from superb passes in transition (which we’ll get into later) to tough finishes inside. For a prime example of the latter, look no further than the following pick-and-roll with Tyler Johnson early in the fourth quarter.
On the flip side of the ball, J. Johnson locked down Young and also made the right call on when to switch off his man. In short, it was yet another all-around performance for Miami’s most versatile player. When it was all said and done, J. Johnson scored 15 points, dished out a team-high eight assists, grabbed seven rebounds, stole the ball twice and blocked two shots.
3. Whiteside Feasts
After a little bit of a slow start to the contest, Whiteside picked things up late in the second quarter and did some damage during the HEAT’s 17-8 run to close the first half. That sharp play would carry over into the third quarter, including a nifty and-one late in the period.
With 2:10 left to play in the third, J. Johnson swiped an errant pass from Lavoy Allen and raced down court. The forward then found Whiteside, who drew the foul on Rakeem Christmas and finished the play.
Shortly after that sequence, Whiteside slammed home an alley-oop jam from J. Johnson. While all that was great, the 7-footer also did a solid job of contesting Myles Turner out on the perimeter. As a result, Whiteside tallied a plus-15 rating to go along with his 22 points and team-high 17 rebounds (seven offensive).
Other Takeaways:
-Rodney McGruder made things very tough on Paul George throughout the contest. In fact, George was ejected with 8:49 left in the third quarter after picking up his second technical foul. Otherwise, McGruder hit his usual spot-up threes and finished with six points on 2-of-4 shooting and a plus-10 rating against the Pacers.
-To no one’s surprise, Goran Dragić did the bulk of his work in transition on Saturday night. Whether it was aggressive takes to the basket or in-rhythm jumpers, the Dragon delivered. In all, the Slovenian scored 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting, dished out four assists and came away with two steals.
Game Notes:
-Willie Reed exited the game in the fourth quarter with a right calf strain and did not return.
-Justise Winslow (right shoulder surgery) and Josh McRoberts (left foot stress fracture) sat out.
Looking Ahead:
-Up next for the HEAT are the Mavericks on Monday at 8:30 PM. After that game, Miami will host the 76ers on Wednesday at 7:30 PM. Tickets for that matchup can be found here.