The Miami HEAT fell to the Golden State Warriors 123-95 Sunday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. Goran Dragić led the way for the HEAT with 20 points.
1. Adebayo Shines
Although it never gets old watching Bam Adebayo rock the rim, the little things are also important. From the very start against Golden State, the rookie showed that in droves.
After a nice alley-oop jam early in the first quarter, Adebayo came through with this huge screen on Draymond Green, which allowed Dragić to attack downhill for the layup:
Then in the third, Adebayo had this impressive drive and finish over Green:
While those plays were great, nothing quite touches a superb defensive sequence the 20-year-old had against Steph Curry late in the second quarter, which resulted in Josh Richardson blocking Kevin Durant:
Long story short, Adebayo had himself an impressive night despite the end result. In all, the former Kentucky Wildcat tallied nine points on 3-of-5 shooting and two rebounds in 20 minutes of action.
2. Dragić Never Quits
By now you should know that Dragić is a true professional. Regardless of what was going on around him, the Slovenian competed hard and did all he could to try and narrow the deficit.
After a sharp first quarter, in which he had this awesome four-point play…
…Dragić continued to knock down outside shots and attack the basket in the third quarter.
In addition to his team-high 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting, the 31-year-old also had three rebounds.
3. Richardson Mixes It Up
Remember Richardson’s fantastic outing against the Hornets? Well, he varied his offensive approach once again versus the defending champions and tallied 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting, including 2-of-4 from deep, to go along with two assists and his aforementioned block.
Other Takeaways:
-Early on, Kelly Olynyk provided a spark off the bench with his usual good ball movement. As such, he led the team with five assists.
Because the 7-footer is such a threat to create for his teammates, this fake handoff worked quite well:
Olynyk finished with 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting and a team-high seven boards in addition to his team-high five assists.
Game Note:
-Hassan Whiteside (left knee bone bruise) sat out. Okaro White (left foot surgery), Rodney McGruder (left tibia surgery), Derrick Walton Jr. (Sioux Falls assignment), A.J. Hammons (Sioux Falls assignment) and Matt Williams Jr. (Sioux Falls assignment) were inactive.
Looking Ahead:
-After practice on Tuesday, the HEAT will head out on a three-game road trip, which starts in San Antonio against the Spurs on Wednesday night at 8:30 PM. Miami’s next home game won’t be until Wednesday, Dec. 13 versus the Trail Blazers. Tickets for that matchup at AmericanAirlines Arena can be found here.