Amazing 3rd Quarter Push Heat Past Wizards; 102-90
The whole NBA were gearing up and the fans were cheering like crazy in the sidelines. It was Miami’s first game of the season and they were set to battle the Washington Wizards.
Miami started slow. Wade went to a rough start in the first quarter, he went ¼ when shooting the ball while his other teammates struggled to pass the ball to the open man as the Wizards played the passing lanes. At the end of the first quarter, Miami had already committed 8 turnovers in total.
Miami’s defense in the first half also gave way to 52 points for the Wizards while they only allowed 44 for the Heat.
The Heat also got outrebounded by the Gortat-Nene duo in the paint. The Wizards had 14 offensive rebounds and 22 defensive rebounds in just the first 2 quarters of the game while Miami only had 4 offensive rebounds and 20 defensive rebounds.
Turning Point. 3rd quarter began and Coach Spoelstra wanted to play small ball. He subbed in Napier and (Goran) Dragic to man the Guard spots while Wade and Deng moved to the Small Forward and Power Forward role respectively.
The plan proved to be very effective against the Wizards.
Dragic harassed Beal and Wall and it got to the point where Coach Wittman needed to call 2 timeouts. Both of them combined for 8 turnovers in the 3rd quarter while Dragic had 5 steals. Napier was also able to contribute with his shooting. Whenever Dragic made a steal, he was the first man to go to the corner and call for the ball. Napier’s 8 points all came from the 3rd quarter.
Miami’s newly-formed Big 3 were also responsible for their amazing 3rd quarter comeback. Wade and Deng shot lights out as they combined for 47 points in 20 makes and 35 attempts. Meanwhile, Bosh went crazy as he got to every loose ball and every rebound and finished with an impressive 14 points, 17 rebounds, and 2 blocks.
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Player of the Game: Dwyane Wade (24 pts, 5 rebs, 8 asts, 2 stls)
Other Notable Performers:
Miami:
Luol Deng (23 pts, 4 rebs, 3 asts, 1 stl)
Chris Bosh (14 pts, 17 rebs)
Goran Dragic (8 pts, 3 rebs, 6 asts, 8 stls)
Washington:
Bradley Beal (30 pts, 5 rebs, 4 asts)
John Wall (13 pts, 4 rebs, 4 asts, 8 TOs)
Marcin Gortat (9 pts, 18 rebs)