The Miami HEAT fell to the Portland Trail Blazers 115-104 Sunday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. James Johnson led the way for the HEAT with 24 points.
1. The Brothers Johnson At It Again
As usual, James Johnson and Tyler Johnson showed great chemistry with one another and provided a spark off the bench for Miami. Early on, Johnson & Johnson’s sharp play in the second quarter drew some attention and opened things up for their teammates on the weak side.
While that was great, the duo was even more impactful in the second half, especially J. Johnson. The bullish forward tallied 19 points and five rebounds after halftime and put a lot of pressure on Portland thanks to his playmaking ability. Let’s take a look at one of his best plays of the game in the fourth quarter.
With 5:18 to play in the period, J. Johnson took advantage of a mismatch with C.J. McCollum and hit him with a spin move near the right block. He then drove across the lane and finished the tough reverse even with Jusuf Nurkic in the vicinity.
Of course, the 30-year-old was also stout on the defensive end and locked down Al-Farouq Aminu throughout the evening. In addition to his 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting, J. Johnson also had seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks.
T. Johnson, meanwhile, did the bulk of his damage in the paint and was pretty efficient overall. One of his most impressive plays of the night came early in the fourth thanks to some defensive pressure from J. Johnson on the other end.
After Aminu lost the ball and the HEAT advanced it, T. Johnson eventually took Evan Turner off the dribble, absorbed contact from the swingman and hit the nifty scoop shot.
The 24-year-old finished with 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting, three rebounds and three assists.
2. Quick Start for Whiteside
With a very skilled center in Nurkic on the other side, Hassan Whiteside made sure he was locked in from the very beginning. In fact, Whiteside scored Miami’s first 10 points of the contest thanks to a variety of different moves. From mid-range jumpers to nifty hook shots inside, the big fella did a little bit of everything during the flurry. As the night progressed, Whiteside continued to be a force on the offensive glass and also protected the rim well. In all, the 7-footer scored 17 points on 8-of-15 shooting, grabbed 10 rebounds (five offensive) and blocked three shots.
3. Richardson Aggressive
Despite the loss, Josh Richardson came through with some aggressive takes to the basket against the Trail Blazers. On the flip side of the ball, he competed hard against Portland’s talented backcourt. In all, Richardson had 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting, two assists and a block.
Game Note:
-Dion Waiters (sprained left ankle), Justise Winslow (right shoulder surgery) and Josh McRoberts (left foot stress fracture) sat out.
Looking Ahead:
-Up next for the HEAT are the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday at 7:30 PM. Tickets for that game can be found here.