The Miami HEAT defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 112-108 Saturday night at AmericanAirlines Arena. Justise Winslow led the way for the HEAT with 26 points.
1. Winslow Can’t Miss Early On
After getting things started with two catch-and-shoot threes that hit nothing but the bottom of the net, Winslow never looked back.
From there, the 22-year-old continued to be assertive and scored from all three levels. In addition to finishing plays at the rim and knocking down some tough turnaround jumpers…
…he also came through with this alley-oop jam late in the first quarter thanks to a steal by Derrick Jones Jr. and a nice lob by Josh Richardson:
And that was just the first half.
Winslow then continued his onslaught in the third quarter with eight points on 3-of-5 shooting before cooling off a bit.
When it was all said and done, the former Duke Blue Devil had seven boards, four assists and a team-high plus-23 rating to go along with his aforementioned 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting, including 4-of-4 from long-range.
2. TJ Does His Thing
There’s not much you can do when Tyler Johnson finds the range from deep.
I mean, just look at this shot from waaaay downtown in the fourth:
All told, TJ drilled four treys and ended up with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
3. J. Rich Records A Career High
Although Richardson struggled a bit with his shot, he made some big plays down the stretch to ensure the victory.
Check out this steal and score for a perfect example of that:
Otherwise in the contest, Richardson kept the ball moving and racked up a game and career-high nine assists.
In addition to those dimes, the 25-year-old also had 14 points, six rebounds and two steals against Memphis.
Other Takeaways:
-Remember Jones Jr.'s shot to end the first half on Thursday?
Well, Dwyane Wade did something similar versus the Grizzlies.
Wade finished with 10 points, five assists, three rebounds and a block.
Game Notes:
-Goran Dragić (Right Knee Surgery), Yante Maten (Sioux Falls Assignment) and Duncan Robinson (Sioux Falls Assignment) were inactive.
-Hassan Whiteside (Illness) was an active scratch.
Looking Ahead:
-Up next for the HEAT are the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday at 8PM. Miami’s next home tilt won’t be until Wednesday, Jan. 23 at 7:30 PM against the Clippers. Tickets for that game at AmericanAirlines Arena can be found here.