The Miami HEAT defeated the Detroit Pistons 109-102 Sunday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. Dwyane Wade led the way for the HEAT with 40 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Impact Performance of the Night: Dwyane Wade had it going all night against the Pistons. From the start, you could tell that he was moving a lot better than he did on Friday night against the Hawks. Wade primarily got some floaters and hook shots to go in the opening period before he started to mix it up. After that point, he attacked from the perimeter and hit some tough mid-range jumpers. As usual, Wade saved his best for crunch time, as he scored 19 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter. Wade also grabbed six boards and dished out four assists to go along with his 40 points.
The Deciding Run: The HEAT went on a 9-6 run to go up 97-86 with 1:38 left in the game. Wade and Udonis Haslem continued to come up huge for Miami.
Earlier, the HEAT went on a 24-9 run to take a 41-34 lead with 4:20 left in the second quarter. Miami scrambled well on the defensive end and fought hard for loose balls.
Play of the Game: With 6:26 left in the game, Wade drove baseline against Tayshaun Prince. He blew past Prince, absorbed contact from him and finished the tough reverse layup. Wade hit the ensuing free throw to put the HEAT up 88-77.
Another nice play came with 9:35 to go in the fourth quarter when Wade threw a beautiful cross-court pass to Mario Chalmers in the left corner. Chalmers caught it in rhythm as he was getting to his spot and then drained the 3-pointer to put Miami up 80-71.
Lastly, with 6:11 left in the first quarter, Henry Walker stole the ball from Reggie Jackson, who lost the ball in transition close to the rim. From there, Udonis Haslem threw it with one hand down court to Wade ahead of the pack. Wade finished the dunk to cut the Pistons’ lead to 17-11.
Efficiency Rating: Offensive Efficiency: 118.8; Defensive Efficiency: 112.5
Trend to Watch: After recording a double-double against the Celtics, Udonis Haslem came through with a vintage performance on Sunday night. Haslem had a lot of tough finishes at the rim and fought hard on the glass all night. Wade often found him with some excellent feeds, but Haslem also had a few tip-ins against the Pistons. Although he had a tough assignment in Andre Drummond for a majority of the night, Haslem answered the call and had a double-double in the first half alone. Haslem finished the game with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
The Takeaway: With the HEAT down a lot of players, it took a complete effort to come away victorious and that is exactly what happened. Five players scored in double-figures on the night, as Miami tallied 20 assists against Detroit. Along with Wade and Haslem, James Ennis also made a huge contribution. With Luol Deng out for the second half, Ennis had a hot start to the third quarter and got Miami off on the right foot. He also did relatively well when the HEAT switched to a 2-3 zone in the third quarter.
Speaking of the zone, Mario Chalmers also had to play in an unfamiliar position at times in the second half. Both Ennis and Chalmers dug in and did whatever it took to grind out a tough win against a Detroit team that had won four straight entering the night.
Notes:
- Luol Deng (left knee contusion) and Michael Beasley (right elbow contusion) didn’t play in the second half.
- Hassan Whiteside (right hand laceration) and Chris Andersen (left calf contusion) sat out.
Game Highlights: