The Miami HEAT fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves 103-91 Tuesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. Hassan Whiteside recorded a triple-double with 22 points, 14 rebounds and 10 blocks.
1. Whiteside The Beast
After having a quiet outing against Minnesota on November 5, Whiteside made sure to make his presence felt this time around. The big man altered plenty of shots at the rim in the first half and was a huge reason why the Timberwolves shot just 32.7 percent through two quarters. While Whiteside blocked five shots in the first half, he really went to work in the third quarter.
Early on into the third, Whiteside had three blocks in a matter of 28 seconds, including a very impressive block on Karl Anthony-Towns.
On the other side of the ball, Whiteside benefited from some excellent feeds by Goran Dragic and Dwyane Wade and bullied Minnesota in the post. Even when he wasn’t being setup well, he still converted some tough finishes inside. As mentioned before, Whiteside notched a triple-double with 22 points, 14 rebounds and 10 blocks.
2. Luol Deng Picks His Spots
Every team needs a guy who does all the dirty work on both ends. Deng did that and much more against the Timberwolves. The vet ran the floor very well for some easy finishes in transition and also knocked down a number of spot-up corner threes. On the defensive end, he was his usual stout self and fared very well as the three and the four at times. On a night where Wade and Chris Bosh didn’t score a whole lot, Deng’s contribution offensively was pretty important. In all, Deng tallied 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting and six boards.
3. Dragic Pushes Tempo
Early on, it seemed like the four-day break in-between games really worked wonders for Dragic. Right when the game started, the point guard was extremely aggressive. Dragic pushed tempo and set up his teammates very well in the first quarter against Minnesota. In particular, it was great to see him and Whiteside start to connect a little more than they have in the past. Of Dragic’s seven assists in the first half, three of them were to the big man. His first assist to Whiteside just happened to be one of the better ones.
With 9:21 left in the first quarter, Dragic received the ball in transition at the right corner. He drove against Ricky Rubio, faked a shot and sneaked it into a trailing Whiteside, who finished the play with the one-handed slam.
That wasn’t all Dragic did though, as he also took it the hoop and finished some tough plays. On one play in particular in the second quarter, he blew past Rubio and finished a layup over Towns. Dragic had 16 points, nine assists and two rebounds on the night.
Other Takeaways:
-While Justise Winslow had a quiet night overall, it was good to see him continue to hustle and show energy on both ends. The rookie worked hard on the glass and had a few back-taps to help keep possessions alive. In all, Winslow accumulated eight points and 11 boards.
Whiteside's Triple-Double