Heat falter in Whiteside’s return
MIAMI — The final steps of getting to .500 are proving nearly as challenging for the Miami Heat as fighting back from that 11-30 midseason record.
Sunday night, it was Damian Lillard’s 49 points in a Portland Trail Blazers victory that kept the Heat from reaching .500 for the first time since the season’s second game. Thursday night it was DeMar DeRozan going for 40 points in the Toronto Raptors’ 101-84 victory at AmericanAirlines Arena.
For the Heat there was good news just before the game, when it was announced that center Hassan Whiteside would start despite requiring 13 stitches to close a hand laceration sustained in Tuesday’s victory over the Phoenix Suns.
It got even better when the Heat burst to a 15-point first-quarter lead, with Whiteside surprisingly efficient with his heavily bandaged right hand on the way to 16 points and 14 rebounds. And then? Thud. A 14-point second period. The Heat’s’ first deficit of the game in the third quarter. And quickly a double-digit deficit early in the fourth.
After a 3-2 homestand, it now gets significantly tougher for the Heat, with six road games and four home games remaining, a schedule that includes Sunday’s game against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden, a pair of games against the Washington Wizards, a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers and a rematch against these Raptors in Toronto.
At 35-37, the Heat remain in the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, but only one game ahead of the Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons. The Bulls already have clinched that playoff tiebreaker and the Pistons can claim their tiebreaker with the Heat with a Tuesday victory at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
Even with Whiteside in the Heat’s starting lineup, both teams were shorthanded.
The Heat remained without starting shooting guard Dion Waiters, who missed his third consecutive game with a sprained left ankle. Although off crutches, Waiters remains in a walking boot.
The Raptors remained without starting point guard Kyle Lowry due to a wrist injury, with starting power forward Serge Ibaka suspended one game by the NBA for the punch thrown at Chicago Bulls center Robin Lopez during their Tuesday dustup in Toronto.
“This is that time of the year,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Everybody is feeling it, so this is the mental toughness we have to get to. I’m not discounting the guys are feeling it, the weight of the wear and tear of an 82-game season.”
That had the Heat again starting Josh Richardson at shooting guard, with the Raptors starting Cory Joseph at point guard and recently acquired P.J. Tucker at power forward.
The Raptors also were without former Heat center Jamaal Magloire, with the assistant coach suspended one game for exacerbating the incident between the Raptors and Bulls.
The Raptors have now won an NBA-high 19 games when overcoming doubledigit deficits.
The Raptors took their first lead of the game midway through the third period and went into the fourth up 75-68, with DeRozan at 34 points by that stage.