The Miami HEAT defeated the Detroit Pistons 107-89 Tuesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. Goran Dragic led the way for the HEAT with 22 points.
1. Three-Point Barrage for Dragic
While Dragic had a solid first two quarters, the point guard really caught fire in the second half to make sure Miami remained in control. Early on, Dragic mixed things up with aggressive drives in the half court and mid-range jumpers off solid screens from Amar’e Stoudemire and Luol Deng. Once the fourth quarter came around, though, things got crazy.
Dragic nailed three 3-pointers in the final period, mostly off catch-and-shoot opportunities. He essentially couldn’t miss down the stretch, scoring 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the fourth.
In addition to his 22 points and eight assists on 9-of-15 shooting, Dragic also had five boards on Tuesday night.
2. Strong Defense
As a whole, Miami defended very well against Detroit. In fact, the HEAT held the Pistons to just 40 percent shooting. In particular, Justise Winslow made life miserable for Marcus Morris and Stanley Johnson for a majority of the contest.
Unsurprisingly, one of the better defensive plays of the night included both he and Dwyane Wade. With 5:56 to go in the second quarter, Winslow came up with the loose ball after Wade poked it away from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Winslow then raced down court, weaved through traffic, absorbed contact from Caldwell-Pope and got the finish to go. He also hit the ensuing free throw to put Miami up 40-26.
Winslow also had a number of excellent passes en route to a nine-point, five-rebound, two-assist performance.
3. Richardson Finds the Range
In all on Tuesday, Richardson scored 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 4-of-5 from distance, and tallied a plus-19 rating.
Other Takeaways:
-Wade had a pretty solid outing in his return to action after a two-game absence. The vet primarily attacked the basket and converted a number of bank shots, as he took advantage of his matchup with Caldwell-Pope. The 34-year-old finished with 16 points and two assists on 50 percent shooting.
Game Note: Chris Bosh and Tyler Johnson (shoulder surgery) sat out.