Miami edges it
Whiteside’s triple-double leads offense
Heat take the sting out of the Hornets, 98-95.
CHARLOTTE— Sometimes youhave togofor a 3-point play the old-fashionedway.
On Friday night, it was the only available three-sponse from the Miami Heat. And it arrived when needed most, on night the Heat’s now-backup center closed with a tripledouble.
With forward Chris Bosh converting a drive and making the ensuing free throw when fouled with 23.5 seconds to play, the Heat survived for a 98-95 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on a night they closed 0-for-9 on 3-pointers.
“We took a step forward,” coach Erik Spoelstra said of both the performance and the Heat ending a run of 14 of 16 games on the road, closing that gauntlet 8-8.
“It builds confidence when you go through and survive battles like this,” Spoelstra said.
Confidence, of course, never has been an issue with center Hassan Whiteside, even while playing his second consecutive game off the bench after missing six with a hip injury.
This time, in 27 minutes in reserve he closed with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocked shots, his 10th block and rebound coming on the same play, when he caught his deflection.
“Whatever
amount
of
mina
Take it easy
utes coach gives me, I’m going to make an impact,” he said when itwas over. “I’m going to go out with a chip onmy shoulder.”
TheHeat needed all the attitude they could muster, with this their first game without a
3-pointer since March 10, 2012, ending a run of 323 consecutive games with at least one.
No matter, not with the Heat coming up with two decisive late defensive stands. Not with Luol Deng scoring late, when needed most. Not with Goran Dragic filling out the box score almost to a Whiteside-like level on a day he missed the morning shootaround due to a cold.
And so, with Dwyane Wade scoring 22 points, Bosh 20 and Dragic adding 12 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, the Heat outlasted the Hornets’ 10-of-26 3-point shooting and27 points from Hornets forward Marvin Williams.
The Heat now have won six of their last seven, arguably their best stretch of the season, even with much of the accomplishment coming on the road.
“It really shows a lot about this team,” Wade said. “Start of this season, we had a lot of home games and we weren’t ready for it. The biggest thing is we stuck with each other, stuck with what our coaches wanted us to do. We’re playing good, confident basketball right now.
“Ifwe get stops, we have enough offensive firepower to get great looks.”
Those looks didn’t necessarily come from deep, as is the NBA trend.
But they were good enough, with the Heat 43-of-85 on their twopoint attempts.
And especially good enough when Bosh, after missing his only two 3-point attempts a day after being named to the All-Star Weekend 3-point contest, bypassed a long shot for his decisive 3-point play.
“That,” Spoelstra said, “was him seizing the moment. “C.B. didn’t settle.” Down eight earlier, the Heat began their closing comeback when a Gerald Green floater completed an 8-3 run that pushed the Heat to an 80-77 lead midway through the fourth quarter, matching their largest lead to that stage, before a Williams 3-pointer then tied it.
From there, it also was tied 82 and 84.
That’s when Whiteside completed his triple-double with a blocked shot that also was his 10th rebound of the night, with the Heat pushing to an 88-84 lead.
“I’m different, it’s as simple as that,” he said of his ability to secure tripledoubles with blocked shots.
But the Hornets would push back to a 91-88 lead, eventually up 93-92 with the Heat calling time with 33.1seconds to play.
That’s when Bosh went for his old-school 3-point play, with the Heat never trailing again.
Charlotte went into the fourth quarter up 73-67, outscoring the Heat 24-0 to that stage from the 3-point line.
The Hornets’ 3-point shooting was concentrated between Kemba Walker (4-of-7) and Nicolas Batum (4-of-6) over the first 36 minutes. The Heat went into the fourth quarter 0-for-7 from beyond the arc.
The Hornets’ 3-point advantage paid dividends when a Walker 3-pointer with 3:33 to play in the third period staked themto a 68-63 lead and forced a Heat timeout. The shot lifted the Hornets to 7-of-17 on 3-pointers at a stage the Heat were 0-for-4.
The Heat played that stretch without Bosh, who had to retreat to the locker room to have an ankle retaped.
With Whiteside again playing off the bench, the Heat ended the opening period down 31-25.
Whiteside entered with 4:10 to play, after an11-2 run pushed the Hornets to a 24-16 lead.\
He promptly blocked two Cody Zeller shots within two seconds and had another blocked shot 30 seconds left.