The Miami HEAT blew out the Detroit Pistons 110-78 Friday night at The Palace of Auburn Hills. LeBron James led the way for the HEAT and recorded a triple-double as he scored 17 points, dished out 12 assists and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Impact Performance of the Night: LeBron James earned his 48th career triple-double (including the playoffs) Friday night against the Pistons. He started off the game as a facilitator to get the HEAT going and never looked back. James finished 7-of-13 shooting for his 17 points.
It was great that James didn’t have to exert a lot of energy and shoulder the scoring load despite so many players being out. He only had eight points in the first half and it took just under 30 minutes through three quarters for James to get the triple-double.
A lot of that had to do with Udonis Haslem’s hot start. Haslem started the game 6-of-6 shooting from the field in the first quarter, which included the HEAT’s first three buckets. In all, Haslem scored a season-high 17 points and grabbed five rebounds. He also drew two charges in that first quarter, one on Kyle Singler and the other on Greg Monroe.
Undoubtedly, James and Haslem set the tone for the HEAT in the first quarter and the rest of the team followed suit.
The Deciding Run: The HEAT had plenty of runs against the Pistons, but the one that effectively put the game away was a 20-5 run in the third quarter that put Miami up 85-54. The HEAT displayed great ball movement and played unselfish basketball to build their lead. They also played great defense and kept Andre Drummond in check all game.
Earlier, the HEAT went on a 19-5 run to end the first half (including 11 straight points) to go up 57-42 at halftime. Miami committed only two turnovers in that first half, the first coming with 1:12 left in the second quarter on a frenetic sequence from both teams in transition.
Play of the Game: With 3:21 to go in the third quarter, Chris Bosh had a huge put-back slam over Jonas Jerebko off a Norris Cole missed 3-pointer. The play capped off the HEAT’s aforementioned 20-5 run in the third quarter.
Another great play came with 5:54 left in the second quarter. Norris Cole threw up a nice lob from the left elbow to Chris Andersen off the pick-and-roll who finished the jam.
Efficiency Rating: Offensive Efficiency: 125.5; Defensive Efficiency: 89.4
Trend to Watch: The HEAT displayed great ball movement throughout the game and as a result had 31 assists on 43 field goals. In fact, Miami’s first 11 field goals came off an assist. In addition, the HEAT did a great job taking care of the ball, as they committed only two turnovers in the first half and nine in total. When the HEAT are moving the ball well and limiting their turnovers, they are very difficult to hang with.
The Takeaway: While the headlines will read that LeBron James had a triple-double, this game was the definition of a team effort. Six players scored in double figures for the HEAT and stepped up in the absence of a number of key contributors (including three starters) on Friday night. Miami also made Detroit settle for very tough outside jumpers and had a clamp on the Pistons all game. The HEAT basically put on a clinic on both ends of the floor and everyone was needed to get the job done.
Norris Cole had one of his best games in a while, scoring 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting from the field. He also was very efficient and smart with his passes against the Pistons, as he had seven assists.
Chris Bosh had 15 points and nine rebounds and was instrumental in the third quarter when the HEAT ran away with the game. Chris Andersen was his usual energetic self and scored 13 points and grabbed six boards.
Notes: Dwyane Wade, Mario Chalmers, Greg Oden and Ray Allen all sat out with various ailments.
Game Highlights: