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Celtics 112 - HEAT 104 Game Recap

The Miami HEAT fell to the Boston Celtics 112-104 Monday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. Goran Dragić led the way for the HEAT with 27 points and 17 assists.

1. Welcome Back, Gogi

After missing the past two games with a strained left elbow, it was uncertain how Dragić would look back in the lineup. Well, it’s safe to say The Dragon is back.

Dragić showed no rust early on with some nifty finishes at the rim, but he really got going in the third quarter. With Miami needing a little boost after halftime, he certainly provided it with 12 points and seven assists (two of which were alley-oops to Hassan Whiteside) in the period. Thanks to Dragić’s aggressiveness, the HEAT as a whole scored 42 points in the third quarter to get back into the game.

Throughout the night, the Slovenian got out on the break, showed his usual excellent footwork in the post and finished plays among the trees. In addition to his season-high 27 points on 8-of-15 shooting and 17 assists, Dragić also tallied two boards and a steal.

2. Whiteside Feasts in the Second Half

After a little bit of a slow start, Whiteside started to get back into the flow of things in the second half. Of course, a lot of that had to do with Dragić feeding him with some great passes. Still, the 7-footer did a nice job on the offensive boards after halftime and also blocked jumpers from both Isaiah Thomas and Kelly Olynyk.

As a whole on the offensive end, Whiteside rolled to the rim with purpose and was always ready for the catch in the post. That’s why he totaled 25 points on the evening to go along with his 17 rebounds and two blocks.

While the loss was disappointing, the way Miami fought back in the third quarter behind Dragić and Whiteside was encouraging.

3. McGruder Does His Thing

In an otherwise tough first half, Rodney McGruder was a bright spot for the HEAT. The 25-year-old ran well off screens and showed nice touch inside. On the flip side of the ball, he hustled back in transition to make sure Boston didn’t get any easy buckets on the break. In the halfcourt, McGruder did a nice job on both Thomas and Avery Bradley.

One of the young man’s best plays came very early into the game. With 10:30 left in the first quarter, Dragić swiped the ball from Thomas and quickly brought it down court. He then hit McGruder in stride, who was ahead of the pack. From there, McGruder finished the rest with the one-handed jam despite Tyler Zeller coming over from behind.

In all, McGruder had 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting and five rebounds (two offensive).

Other Takeaways:

Ellington finished with nine points, two rebounds and two assists against the Celtics.

Game Note:

-Tyler Johnson (tooth), Dion Waiters (strained right groin) and Justise Winslow (sore left wrist) all sat out.

Looking Ahead:

-The HEAT will now go back on the road for matchups with the Nuggets, Jazz and Trail Blazers. After that gauntlet, Miami will head home for a game with the Knicks on December 6 at 7:30 PM. Tickets for that game can be found here.