The Miami HEAT fell to the Orlando Magic 104-99 Tuesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. Dion Waiters led the way for the HEAT with 26 points.
1. Waiters Does All He Can Down The Stretch
Although Waiters kept Orlando’s defense guessing early on with aggressive takes to the basket and shots from the perimeter, his biggest impact came in the fourth.
In fact, Waiters scored 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting in the final period and hit some treys much like this one…
… to try and extend the game.
Unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough.
In addition to his team-high 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting, including 5-of-11 from deep, Waiters also amassed two assists, one board and one steal.
2. Wade Goes Off Late
After a quiet start to the game, Dwyane Wade went off in the fourth as usual with a team-high 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting in the period.
And above all else, this three with contact was perhaps his most impressive sequence of the flurry:
Wade finished with 22 points, seven rebounds, a team-high seven assists and a team-high three steals.
3. J. Rich Sets The Tone
Josh Richardson came out with a lot of energy and hit his first four shots, including this awesome give-and-go jam over Aaron Gordon:
J. Rich ended up with 17 points, six assists and a steal.
Other Takeaways:
-In addition to coming through with this big finish with contact in the fourth…
…Derrick Jones Jr. also had this crazy one-handed jam over Nikola Vučević late in the second quarter:
Airplane Mo…well, you know the rest.
When it was all said and done, Jones Jr. accumulated nine points on 4-of-7 shooting, seven rebounds and a block.
Game Note:
-Justise Winslow (Right Thigh Bruise) and Rodney McGruder (Left Knee Soreness) were inactive.
Looking Ahead:
-Up next for the HEAT are the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night at 7:30 PM. Tickets for that game at AmericanAirlines Arena can be found here.