The Miami HEAT defeated the San Antonio Spurs 97-94 Monday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. Gerald Green led the way for the HEAT with 17 points.
1. Another Comeback
Like they did against the Magic, the HEAT once again made a comeback in the fourth quarter. This time around though, it resulted in a hard-nosed victory.
Behind Josh Richardson and Keith Benson, Miami went on a 15-3 run to take a 92-87 lead with a little over two minutes to go in the game. The HEAT amped up their defensive pressure and forced the Spurs to shoot just 3-of-18 for a measly 10 points in the final quarter.
Richardson turned on the jets a few times in transition and did the majority of his damage from the charity stripe. Benson, meanwhile, came up big on the glass and had a huge put-back slam off a Justise Winslow missed layup. Richardson had seven points, three rebounds and three steals, while Benson tallied two points and six boards (four offensive) in just 5:43 of action.
2. Fast and Fun Offense
Two things stood out about Miami’s offense on Monday night: fast break points and 3-pointers. The HEAT came out guns blazing against the Spurs, with three of their first four shots coming from downtown. In addition to that, Goran Dragic pushed tempo early and often in the first quarter, which enabled the team to get some easy buckets. In fact, Miami ‘s first three field goals came in transition.
Dragic continued to run the floor throughout the game, as the HEAT totaled 25 fast break points against San Antonio. Oddly enough, one of the best plays on the break actually didn’t involve Dragic.
With just 6.4 seconds left in the first quarter, Greg Whittington came up with a rebound after Gerald Green forced Manu Ginobili to take a tough shot. Whittington passed it up ahead to Winslow, who threw it back to Whittington for the one-handed slam.
3. Tyler Johnson Moving Well Off the Ball
With a handful of players out for the game, Johnson was the first point guard off the bench for Miami and he made sure not to waste anytime while on the floor. The young man moved very well without the ball and his teammates found him for some nice slams. On one in particular in the first quarter, Johnson made a heads-up cut to the hoop after David West pressured Udonis Haslem on the right elbow. Haslem then found him with the nice bounce pass, which Johnson easily took in for the two-handed jam.
In addition to a few dunks, Johnson also knocked down two threes and had a catch-and-shoot jumper off an impressive drive-and-kick by Winslow early in the second quarter. Johnson also made his presence felt in the fourth quarter with some clutch buckets and finished the game with 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting.
Other Takeaways:
Wade HEATs Up
After a bit of a slow start, Wade started to get going in the second half. He primarily operated from the perimeter against San Antonio and knocked down some tough jumpers. In all, Wade tallied 16 points on 50 percent shooting.
Game Note: Hassan Whiteside (right calf strain), Amar’e Stoudemire (rest), Josh McRoberts (rest) and Mario Chalmers (rest) sat out.
Game Highlights: