The Miami HEAT defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 102-101 Tuesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. Dwyane Wade led the way for the HEAT with 27 points.
1. Wade Wins It
Well, we’ve seen this before.
Throughout Dwyane Wade’s illustrious career, the 36-year-old has come through time and time again in crunch time.
Now it’s time to add Tuesday night’s game to his list of clutch performances.
Wade simply went off in the fourth quarter against Philadelphia, as he scored 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the period and knocked down this tough jumper over Ben Simmons to put Miami up for good:
On the flip side of the ball, Wade competed hard against Simmons down the stretch.
In addition to his team-high 27 points on 10-of-16 shooting, Wade also had three steals.
2. Dragić Sharp Throughout
With this matchup being a very important game in terms of playoff seeding, you had to know that Goran Dragić would be ready to rock.
Early on, Dragić looked like a blur as he weaved his way around screens for in-rhythm pull-up jumpers and dazzled with some nice passes to his teammates.
Naturally, one his more impressive plays came during his flurry in the first half.
That said, the Slovenian also came through with a handful of shots from the perimeter later on.
In all, Dragić amassed 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting, six rebounds, a team-high five assists and a team-high plus-20 rating.
3. Whiteside Responds
Although Hassan Whiteside had a slow start to the contest, he responded in the second quarter and put the 76ers on notice.
How so?
Well, he tallied eight points on 4-of-6 shooting, six rebounds and two assists in the period alone.
Oh yeah, this nifty and-one in the post against Joel Embiid was also pretty awesome:
As the game progressed, Whiteside continued to stay active on both ends of the floor.
Just check out this fantastic sequence against Amir Johnson in the fourth quarter for proof of that:
Whiteside ended up with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, a team-high 11 boards, three assists, three steals, three blocks and a plus-19 rating.
Other Takeaways:
-Both Kelly Olynyk and Rodney McGruder made their return to action against the 76ers. Olynyk missed the prior six games with a left shoulder strain, while McGruder made his season debut on Tuesday after fracturing his left tibia.
Olynyk made some solid plays on both ends of the floor and finished with nine points, three rebounds, three assists and a plus-11 rating.
McGruder, meanwhile, fought hard through screens and kept up with Marco Belinelli quite well in the second half.
Of course, the Kansas State product also knocked down this trey in the fourth quarter:
When it was all said and done, McGruder had three points in nine minutes of play.
Game Notes:
-Wayne Ellington (left quad contusion) exited the game in the second quarter and did not return.
-Jordan Mickey, Derrick Jones Jr. (Sioux Falls assignment), Derrick Walton Jr. (Sioux Falls assignment) and Dion Waiters (left ankle surgery) were inactive.
Looking Ahead:
-The HEAT will continue their homestand on Thursday against the Lakers at 7:30 PM. Tickets for that game can be found here.