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!!!
