HEAT-Spurs Have Rematch of NBA Finals, Miami Drops Third Straight

 

Chris Andersen and Shabazz Napier connect for an alley-oop against the Spurs

 

by Darrin Williamson | Miami SPORTS & Lifestyle

At least the Miami HEAT tried to hang in there. 

It was a rematch of last year's NBA Finals, but this time Miami was without quite a few players from last year's team.

            Besides not having a LeBron James or a Game 6 Ray Allen, tonight was just another night of losses as Miami had found out before the game that Hassan Whiteside would be sitting the game out because of a sore ankle. 

In that case, you'd say Chris Bosh was due for a monster game, right? 

Yes. It just wasn't going to happen because of the lack of aggressiveness.

            The Spurs seemed to be playing with a chip on their shoulder; Constantly moving the ball, hitting open threes, just playing Spurs basketball.

            Miami showed grit, and toughness, despite getting outplayed for most of the game. Tyler Johnson, who was on his second 10 day contract, had 18 points; Luol Deng added 17 and Chris Bosh had 14 for the HEAT, who were trailing by as much as 20 in a game that wasn't ever close.

            The Spurs had 31 assists on the night, and went 11-29 from the field.

            "I mean, they're making the right play, like every single one, well, like 90 percent of the time," Bosh said. "They're getting wide-open jump shots, they're being aggressive and you just don't know what they're going to do."

 

Breakdown from the Miami HEAT game against the San Antonio Spurs last night

Other Notes

HEAT: F Udonis Haslem left the game in the first quarter after injuring his left wrist. Initial X-rays were negative, but he will be re-evaluated in Miami. ... C Chris Andersen was hit with a technical foul with 5:24 left in the third quarter, but after officials got together the call was altered to a double technical on Andersen and Spurs C Aron Baynes. ... Spoelstra was hit a technical foul with 6:23 remaining after arguing a non-call, in a game that looked way too lopsided. The Miami HEAT are now 21-29, currently 9th in the Eastern Conference standings (out of the playoffs) behind the Brooklyn Nets a half game.

Up Next

Miami host the Knicks on Monday, 7:30 PM - You can watch the game on SUN Sports

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Darrin Williamson is a writer and the radio director for Miami SPORTS & Lifestyle. You can follow him on Twitter @Godschild530.

Hassan Whiteside's Triple Double, Franchise Record Frustrates Chicago; HEAT Win

Hassan Whiteside responds when asked what his inspiration was for the game...

by Andrew Powell | Miami SPORTS & Lifestyle

Hassan Whiteside held a block party in Chicago today, and the Bulls didn’t have fun. AT ALL.

                Whiteside was coming back from a sprained ankle that he suffered against Oklahoma City last week and didn’t start the game today. As a matter of fact, he only played 25 minutes for the whole game. He gets called out there by Coach Spo and has an immediate impact.

                Hassan went on the floor and ended up with a triple double of 14 points (off of 60% shooting), 13 rebounds and 12 blocks, which was a career high for him and the Miami HEAT franchise record, the same franchise who once had Shaquille O’Neal.

This was called by the national audience his “coming out party”, but HEAT fans have been blessed to see the greatness of Whiteside for the past few weeks now. Today was another glimpse of the greatness that we’re getting accustom to, especially those five blocks that he got in only seven minutes. He was definitely the player of the game today, getting praise from the coaching staff and all of his teammates.

What made the game for Whiteside even more impressive was the fact that he was going head to head with Pau Gasol. Gasol ended the game with a stat line of 13 points, 17 rebounds, three assists and four blocks; and was still defeated by Hassan.

                Dwyane Wade scored 26 points and Chris Bosh added another 20. Luol Deng scored 15 in his return to Chicago, and Mario Chalmers also added another 15 points. This all contributed to the HEAT wiping out the momentum that the Bulls had built after beating the San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks.

                Miami controlled the majority of the game, leading by 10 when halftime had approached, then they were up by 12 when the fourth quarter rolled around. The rest of the game Chicago was never in it, leaving the Bulls fans quiet throughout, and Chicago players frustrated. Miami won the game with a final score of 96-84 while holding the Bulls’ offense to only 35 percent shooting from the field.

                Besides Hassan’s big game and a HEAT victory, this was also Luol Deng’s ‘welcome back’ to Chicago.

The Bulls held a video tribute for Luol Deng for his return back to Chicago

                During a timeout in the first quarter, Luol Deng was honored by the Chicago Bulls where he had spent nine seasons before being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Chicago held a video tribute and featured clips of Deng when he played for the Bulls. Multiple emotions and memories had hit Deng.

                “I’m glad that I made a lot of friends here and it’s good to come back because when I left I didn’t say any (good)byes, “said Deng. “It’s taken a lot of energy just seeing everybody. It seems like it was yesterday to be honest.”

                Along with his 15 points, Luol Deng contributed 10 rebounds and four assists in his return to Chicago.

                The Miami HEAT now head back to Miami with a 20-24 record and will take on the visiting Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night. If you’re not attending the game, you can watch it on SUN Sports. Game starts at 7:30.

                LET’S GO HEAT!!!

Jekiri's Double-Double Carries Miami Over Syracuse, 66-62

by Andrew Powell | Miami SPORTS&Lifestyle

WOW!

    What a game that was between Miami and Syracuse.

                

                The Hurricanes had dominated the whole game, only allowing Syracuse to be up once the entire time. That was in the opening seconds when Syracuse was up 1-0, but Syracuse would never go away and Miami had to earn this victory.

                Every time the Canes would go up by 10, Syracuse would come marching back to be within a few points, even tying it up a few times. They were even tied up 26-26 at halftime, then Miami went up by 10 again when they went on a 16-6 run after the break. Syracuse had come back one last time when they hit a three that made it 60-59 with 52.6 seconds remaining, but Miami would eventually hold on to win after Angel Rodriguez hit two clutch free throws and Syracuse missed the game tying three with 4.4 seconds left to go on the clock. Good ball movement, key shots and missed Syracuse free throws also contributed to the win.

                The player of the game was Tonye Jekiri who had a stat line of 13 points, 15 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 blocks. Other notable stats were: Angel Rodriguez with 12 points, 8 assists and 4 steals; Sheldon McClellan with 7 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals and Davon Reed with 11 points. Ivan Cruz Uceda also hit his first career three-pointer as a Cane.

                The win today brings Miami’s record to a total of 14-5 (4-2 ACC) and continues their push towards the NCAA tournament in March. Here in late January, wins are starting to get more and more important to the committee, and this was a big win that will help out The U in their eyes.

                Miami goes at it again on Wednesday night at 9:00 PM against Georgia Tech, this time a home game in Coral Gables. You can watch the game on ESPN Full Court/ESPN3.

                Head to Coral Gables or root on the Canes from home! Let’s make the tourney!