The Miami HEAT defeated the Boston Celtics 115-99 Thursday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. Dwyane Wade led the way for the HEAT with 19 points.
1. Wade Holds Off Boston
With Boston mounting a comeback in the third, Wade answered the call and stopped the Celtics in their tracks.
How so?
Well, he scored eight of Miami’s last 11 points in the period and then followed that up with two buckets in a row to start the fourth, including this heads-up steal and score in transition:
That’s D. Wade for ya.
In addition to his team-high 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting and that steal above, Wade also had an assist.
2. Jones Jr. Electric Throughout
Simply put, Derrick Jones Jr. was everywhere on Thursday night.
Whether he was hitting threes, finishing plays inside, hustling for loose balls or making crazy steals like this…
…he made his presence felt.
He also competed hard in one-on-one defense against Kyrie Irving for most of the evening and came through with this steal and jam late in the second quarter:
And while that play was pretty cool, we can’t forget about this three that ended the half:
Told you Jones Jr. was everywhere.
The 21-year-old finished with 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting, seven boards, one block and a team-high plus-17 rating to go along with his two steals above.
3. Point Justise At It Again
So…Justise Winslow’s career mark in assists didn’t last long.
After dishing out 10 dimes against the Wizards on Jan. 4, Winslow racked up a game and career-high 11 assists versus the Celtics, including this fantastic pass to a cutting James Johnson:
Otherwise on Thursday, Winslow mixed things up offensively with runners and catch-and-shoot treys and also defended Jayson Tatum quite well.
In all, the 22-year-old tallied 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting and seven rebounds to go along with his aforementioned 11 assists.
Other Takeaways:
-Let’s not let this poster dunk by JJ on Irving get lost in the shuffle:
Sheesh.
Johnson finished with 12 points, five boards, three assists and a block.
Game Note:
-Goran Dragić (Right Knee Surgery), Yante Maten (Sioux Falls Assignment) and Duncan Robinson (Sioux Falls Assignment) were inactive.
Looking Ahead:
-Up next for the HEAT are the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday at 5PM. Tickets for that game at AmericanAirlines Arena can be found here.