The Miami HEAT defeated the Toronto Raptors 103-91 Friday night at AmericanAirlines Arena in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Goran Dragic led the way for the HEAT with 30 points. The series is now tied 3-3.
1. Dragic Does It All
Elimination games are when you put it all on the line, and Dragic did just that against the Raptors in Game 6. In fact, the Slovenian was aggressive from the very start, as he took his man off the dribble often for some nifty finishes at the rim. While Miami’s faster tempo benefited the Dragon, he also fared well in the half court.
Let’s look at one such instance with 9:52 left in the first half. It was at that point when Dragic sized-up Cory Joseph at the right wing and attacked the basket. Once he approached the paint, he absorbed contact from Joseph and still got the runner to go.
That wasn’t all to Dragic’s night, though. The point guard mixed up his offensive approach with some impressive step-back jumpers and a few 3-pointers for good measure. He simply had the whole repertoire on display.
In addition to his 30 points on 12-of-21 shooting, Dragic also had seven rebounds and four assists.
2. Small Ball Prevails
After small ball worked quite well at the end of Game 5, Erik Spoelstra opted to start off that way from the get-go this time around. In fact, Justise Winslow, Josh McRoberts and Luol Deng received the bulk of the minutes at center. In particular, McRoberts was aggressive and came through with some huge put-backs to keep possessions alive for the HEAT. He ended up with 10 points and five boards on 5-of-8 shooting.
Otherwise, Miami pushed the pace a little more with the smaller lineup. Naturally, that led to some easier buckets and more rhythm on the offensive end.
3. Winslow Shines in Starting Lineup
In short, Winslow made the most of his first-ever postseason start and impacted the game on both ends. Early on, he knocked down a few shots from the perimeter, including a corner three. Later, the rookie did damage around the rim thanks to great movement off the ball.
Defensively, Winslow was his usual versatile self, primarily defending Bismack Biyombo and switching to perimeter guys too. Of course, he also did the little things by cleaning the glass and fighting hard for loose balls.
In all, the 20-year-old tallied 12 points and three rebounds on Friday night.
Other Takeaways:
Wade totaled six rebounds and five assists to go along with his 22 points against Toronto.
-Like Winslow, Josh Richardson continued to show he’s not afraid of the moment despite being a rookie. While Richardson played well offensively, he had two great blocks on Kyle Lowry in the fourth to make sure the Raptors wouldn’t mount a comeback. His ability to thrive in late-game situations has been quite impressive to witness.
That said, you also can’t forget about this massive jam he had in the second quarter.
Game Note: Hassan Whiteside and Chris Bosh were inactive.