The Miami HEAT fell to the Orlando Magic 104-101 Wednesday night at Amway Center. Goran Dragić led the way for the HEAT with 26 points.
1. Dragić Breathes Fire
Goran Dragić sure is crafty, isn’t he?
Whether he was operating in the halfcourt or in transition, the Dragon found success and kept Orlando on its toes for most of the night.
After utilizing screens well and attacking the basket relentlessly in the first half much like this…
…Dragić started to do damage a bit more from beyond the arc later on.
Then again, this nifty finish in the fourth off a jump ball back-tap from Nikola Vučević was pretty cool too:
In addition to his team-high 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting, the Slovenian also tallied a team-high four assists to go along with four rebounds and a game-high plus-20 rating.
2. J. Rich Sticks With It
Although Josh Richardson didn’t shoot as well as he’s used to, he didn’t let that deter him one bit and remained aggressive on Wednesday.
In fact, J. Rich scored from all three levels and came through with some tough finishes around the basket.
For a perfect example of his assertive approach, take a look at this sequence early in the third quarter where he probed his dribble along the baseline, passed it to Bam Adebayo, used the big fella on a screen handoff and took it to the basket for an and-one finish over Vučević.
When it was all said and done, the 25-year-old amassed 21 points, five rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block.
3. Whiteside Sharp Early
Much like last year against Orlando in the season opener, Hassan Whiteside wasted little time to put his imprint on the game.
Not only did he free up his teammates with some great screens, but he also defended well early on, especially on this nice block on Vučević that led to…
…AIRPLANE MODE.
And while Whiteside took advantage inside from time to time, one of his more impressive sequences came in the third quarter when he followed his own miss and finished this tough hook shot over Vučević:
In all, the 29-year-old accumulated 12 points, a game-high 18 rebounds and two blocks.
Other Takeaways:
-After playing well alongside Whiteside in the third quarter, Adebayo competed hard against Vučević as the lone center late in the fourth and also switched very well on the perimeter.
Oh yeah, let’s not forget this spinning pick-and-roll finish either:
Adebayo ended up with nine points on 4-of-9 shooting, eight rebounds and two assists.
Game Note:
-James Johnson (Sports Hernia Surgery), Dion Waiters (Left Ankle Surgery) and Justise Winslow (Right Hamstring Tightness) were inactive.
Looking Ahead:
-The HEAT will now travel to the nation’s capital to take on the Wizards Thursday night at 8PM. After that matchup, Miami will head home for its battle against the Hornets on Saturday at 8PM. Tickets for the home opener can be found here.