The Miami HEAT defeated the Utah Jazz 100-95 Friday night at EnergySolutions Arena. Dwyane Wade led the way for the HEAT with 29 points and seven assists.
Impact Performance of the Night: Once more, Dwyane Wade had a great performance against a team he’s had success against throughout his career. Wade was very aggressive driving to the hoop in the first half and also set up his teammates well. In the second half, Wade started to attack from the perimeter and hit some nice pull-up jumpers. Perhaps most importantly, Wade sank three clutch free throws down the stretch to help the team win. In all, Wade scored a season-high 29 points on 10-of-16 shooting and dished out seven assists.
The Deciding Run: Miami went on a 9-2 run to go up 89-81 with 7:18 left in the game. Wade started to get going from outside during the run and the HEAT as whole responded well to a big third quarter from the Jazz.
Earlier, the HEAT closed the first half on a 12-6 run to go up 62-47 entering halftime. Wade continued to take it to the hoop during the run.
Play of the Game: With just over a minute left in the game, Chris Bosh backed-down Enes Kanter at the right corner. Bosh then hit the turnaround, mid-range jumper from the baseline to put Miami up 95-89 with 58 seconds to go. Bosh had a good outing against the Jazz and finished with 22 points and nine boards.
Earlier in the game, Dwyane Wade made an aggressive defensive play and swiped an errant pass from Trey Burke. Wade then passed the ball up ahead to Norris Cole. Cole finished the play in transition to put Miami up 4-0 with 11:21 left in the first quarter.
Efficiency Rating: Offensive Efficiency: 114.1; Defensive Efficiency: 107.1
Trend to Watch: As they have for a majority of this road trip, the HEAT kept their turnovers to a minimum and displayed solid ball movement. Miami committed just nine turnovers against Utah, including only three in the first half which was the lowest for any half this season. As a result, the HEAT jumped out to a pretty good lead thanks to a very balanced offensive attack. Miami had 19 assists on 36 made field goals on Friday night.
The Takeaway: In yet another close game against the Jazz, the HEAT came out of Salt Lake City with a victory. It was great to see Miami grind out a tough road win against a team starving for a victory. The HEAT made some clutch plays down the stretch to ensure they closed their five-game road trip on a positive note. In one such instance, Miami forced a five second violation on the inbounds pass while it was up by three points. Instead of a Utah possession, it led to two free throws for Norris Cole, which sealed the deal for good.
Notes: Justin Hamilton scored a career-high nine points on Friday night.
Game Highlights: