Tag Archive for: Miami Heat

Waiters, Whiteside down Knicks at MSG

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It was supposed to be Dwyane Wade’s night.

But to get the W, Miami needed more than they’ve gotten at times from Dion Waiters and Hassan Whiteside.

Waiters was the offensive star for the first three quarters, as the Heat struggled to defend the league-worse Knicks, and Whiteside carried Miami in the fourth after Erik Spoelstra chose to let him play down the stretch. Waiters finished with 28 points, and Whiteside had 17 points and 10 rebounds.

That kept the Miami right where they were, as Brooklyn, Detroit and Orlando all pulled mild upsets.

So the Heat are now 38-38, and the eighth seed, with six games left in Dwyane Wade’s regular season career. Wade had 16 points and seven rebounds.

Some were impressed enough by the win to make grand proclamations.

Here’s how Wade was honored at Madison Square Garden, the place where Danilo Gallinari shouldn’t have made him taste his own blood:

 

(Our Michael Sonbeek was on the scene and sent this video).

 

Pressure on Heat veterans tonight in NYC

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This should be easy.

The Knicks are intentionally awful, worst in the East at 14-61, and arguably the worst franchise in the East over the past five years.

But, with the Heat missing Justise Winslow, Josh Richardson and Rodney McGruder — and having struggled against some of the NBA’s worst teams already — nothing can be taken for granted.

Simply, they need to get something of significance from three of the highest-paid veterans on the roster: Hassan Whiteside, Dion Waiters and James Johnson.

The good news is Waiters has been a little better of late, averaging 20.3 points in his past three games, with reasonable efficiency.

The Heat had a short morning shootaround in Manhattan and John Kozan of Miami Heat Beat was there to cover it (and take the photo above).

Tip is at 7:30 p.m.

Follow @5ReasonsSports and @MiaHeatBeat for more coverage.

JRich, Winslow out for Heat trip

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The Miami Heat need just about every game from here out…. and would seem to need every key player.

They won’t have two of the Kids for the next two games, however.

Neither Josh Richardson (heel) nor Justise Winslow (thigh) traveled to New York for the opening contest of a short trip that finishes in Boston.

That means Goran Dragic will continue to start at point guard, with Derrick Jones Jr. also likely taking a spot in the lineup. It also means that the Heat will rely heavily on Dwyane Wade and Dion Waiters to provide offense.

That should be enough against New York.

Against the Celtics, who are trying to grab a homecourt seed in the East?

We’ll see.

Goran, Luka and the Slovenians that Didn’t Stop

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Goran Dragic played his best game of the season Thursday, filling in as a starter for Justise Winslow and Josh Richardson and recording a triple-double in a needed win for the Miami Heat against the Dallas Mavericks.

But neither he, nor certain Rookie of the Year forward Luka Doncic on the other squad, were the Slovenian stars of the occasion.

No, those were the fans, who gathered at Bayside, started chanting from all sides of AmericanAirlines Arena prior to tipoff, and never stopped. Not even when the game did.

This was the scene 20 minutes after the final buzzer:

And eventually, after showering and speaking to the media, Dragic came out of the locker room to lead more chants.

Hey, can they stick around for the rest of the Heat’s playoff chase?