The Miami HEAT defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 115-113 Monday night at Target Center for their 11th straight win. Goran Dragić led the way for the HEAT with 33 points.
1. The Dragon Breathes Fire…Again
You might have heard by now that Dragić is having one of the best shooting seasons of his career. If you didn’t know, you definitely figured it out after watching Dragić’s fantastic performance against Minnesota. In short, the Slovenian was absolutely on fire from beginning to end, as he nailed his first seven 3-pointers of the night. Whether it was spot-up 3-pointers or pull-ups, it didn’t matter. Dragić found success often. In addition to his 33 points on 13-of-17 shooting, the 30-year-old also led the team with nine assists and a plus-17 rating.
2. J. Johnson Does It On Both Ends
Early on, James Johnson did damage in the paint thanks to some nice movement off the ball. That said, the versatile forward also set up his teammates with some great feeds throughout the contest. One of Johnson’s best passes of the night came right after a fantastic defensive play.
With 5:36 left in the fourth quarter, Karl-Anthony Towns received the ball inside from Ricky Rubio. Dragić and Hassan Whiteside converged on him well, which allowed Johnson to swat the ball off the backboard from behind. After corralling the rebound, the 29-year-old took a dribble and hit Tyler Johnson with the laser-beam pass, which the guard slammed home in transition.
Shortly thereafter, J. Johnson hit a clutch corner three to put Miami up 108-103. Not to mention, he forced a miss from Andrew Wiggins with 0.9 seconds left to play. In all, the Wake Forest product scored 11 points, dished out five assists and grabbed four rebounds to go along with that block.
3. Whiteside Shows His Strength
To put it simply, Whiteside did his usual work around the basket against the Timberwolves. For a majority of the game, the big fella rolled to the basket with force and was ready for the catch in the post. One of his more impressive finishes of the evening came late in the first quarter.
With 3:01 to play in the period, Whiteside set a screen for Dragić at the top of the key and rolled to the basket. Once the point guard realized that Towns switched to him, he dished it to Whiteside inside. From there, the 7-footer showed his strength and finished the play despite being wrapped up by Rubio.
Later in the fourth, Whiteside pulled down a huge defensive rebound with 8.9 seconds remaining after Wiggins missed what would have been the go-ahead jumper. The 27-year-old finished with 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting, 13 boards, two assists, a steal and a block.
4. McGruder Tallies A Career High
While Rodney McGruder had a great start to the contest and knocked down some catch-and-shoot threes, his contributions in the second half were instrumental in the victory. After creating well off the dribble for Whiteside in the third quarter, McGruder came through with a heads-up offensive board and put-back to give the HEAT a 110-105 lead with 2:54 left in the game.
On the flip side of the ball, the 25-year-old did a nice job of defending Wiggins, Rubio, Brandon Rush and Shabazz Muhammad. In addition to scoring a career-high 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-4 from downtown, the rookie also grabbed five boards and dished out four assists.
Other Takeaways:
-Miami shot 15-of-28 from beyond the arc and set a season-high for threes made.
-Although Dion Waiters didn’t shoot the ball as well as he has recently, he made up for it with his sharp play on the defensive end. He showed quick hands often in the passing lanes and also came away with some fantastic blocks.
Waiters ended up with 12 points, five assists, three rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
Game Note:
-Josh Richardson (left foot sprain), Justise Winslow (right shoulder surgery) and Josh McRoberts (left foot stress fracture) sat out.
Looking Ahead:
-Up next for the HEAT are the Milwaukee Bucks Wednesday night at 8:00 PM. Miami’s next home game won’t be until February 13 against the Magic. Tickets for that contest can be found here.