The Miami HEAT defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 108-104 Wednesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. Dwyane Wade led the way for the HEAT with 32 points and six assists.
Impact Performance of the Night: In the first half, Dwyane Wade didn’t quite look like himself. Then the fourth quarter came around. It was officially Wade time.
Wade simply went off in the fourth quarter against the Trail Blazers, where he scored 15 of his 32 points. He hit some tough mid-range jumpers, had a gorgeous euro-step move which led to a floater over Robin Lopez and just laid it all on the line on Wednesday night. As he has throughout the whole month of March, Wade willed the HEAT to victory when it mattered most. Wade finished the game with 32 points, six assists and four rebounds. It was his seventh-straight game of 25 points or more.
The Deciding Run: The HEAT went on a 17-7 run to go up 96-88 with 5:40 left in the game. Luol Deng and Goran Dragic kept up their hot shooting throughout the run. Although the Trail Blazers got closer down the stretch, Wade shut the door on them.
Earlier, the HEAT went on a 12-5 run to cut the Trail Blazers’ lead to 47-43 with 3:30 left in the first half. Dragic pushed tempo during the run.
Play of the Game: With 9:47 to go in the second quarter, Mario Chalmers drove down the left baseline and flipped up a lob for Chris Andersen. Andersen made a great extension to grab the ball with one hand and threw it down over Chris Kaman to cut Portland’s lead to 35-29.
Another nice play came with 6:17 left in the game when Dwyane Wade aggressively drove inside after Chris Andersen set him a screen at the left wing. Wade then absorbed contact from Robin Lopez and got the soft floater to drop off the glass. Wade hit the ensuing free throw to put Miami up 94-88.
Lastly, with 4:50 left in the first quarter, Dwyane Wade drove inside after Hassan Whiteside set him a screen. Wade missed his layup attempt, but Whiteside was there for the huge put-back slam that put Miami up 19-18.
Efficiency Rating: Offensive Efficiency: 114.7; Defensive Efficiency: 110.4
Trend to Watch: Once more, Goran Dragic had a fantastic outing on Wednesday night. He mixed it up against the Trail Blazers with some tough finishes inside and shots from the perimeter. Dragic also showed his blazing speed in transition as usual. On one play in particular, Dragic hit an amazing step-back 3-pointer over Chris Kaman to cut Portland’s lead to two right before the end of the third quarter. In addition to his scoring, Dragic also dished out plenty of great passes like he did Monday night against the Cavaliers. Dragic recorded a double-double against Portland with 20 points and 11 assists.
The Takeaway: It was a gutsy performance by the HEAT to come up with yet another quality win on their home court. LaMarcus Aldridge had a fantastic outing for Portland, but Miami weathered the storm and got stops when it needed them most. The Trail Blazers shot just 45 percent in the second half compared to 56.1 percent in the first half. Late in regulation, Miami caused Aldridge to shoot an air-ball and later forced an over-and-back violation with a little less than 12 seconds to go.
Offensively, the HEAT started to get going from downtown in the second half. Miami connected on all five of its three-point attempts in the third quarter and showed balance. A lot of that had to do with some solid ball movement, as the team tallied ten assists alone in the third. Luol Deng was automatic from three-point land against Portland, as he hit all four of his treys and scored 24 points on the night.
Game Highlights: