Without Whiteside, Heat can’t finish
Miami falls in final stop of four-game road trip
DETROIT — At least the Miami Heat have a full week at home to attempt to figure it out.
That should provide plenty of time to search for answers. Any answers. The Heat played well enough again Saturday to shake their recent woes. It just wasn’t enough. They dropped their third straight game, falling 111-107 o the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena. They finished the fourgame road trip at 1-3, but the good news is they return home for three straight starting Monday against the Orlando.
“We’ve had some of these where we’ve won and done it our way,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We’ve had others done their way. It’s a painful lesson. We’ve got to keep on grinding. We know what road map is.”
Maybe sleeping in their own beds will cure what has ailed them the last few weeks. Since winning seven straight games in early January, they have gone just 4-7.
Guard Goran Dragic led all scorers with a season-high 33 points on 13 of 23 shooting. Josh Richardson finished with 19 points, six assists and three steals and forward James Johnson added 18 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
They were in Saturday’s game throughout despite playing without center Hassan Whiteside, who was battling an illness. His absence led to the Heat using their 16 different starting lineup this season. Shortly before tip-off, Whiteside was ruled out due to
what he called a stomach virus.
He sat the fourth quarter of Friday’s to the Philadelphia 76ers after complaining about an upset stomach that led to pregame vomiting.
He was replaced in the lineup by Kelly Olynk. To better handle the Pistons’ frontcourt of Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra went in favor of rookie Bam Adebayo and moved James Johnson to the bench.
It was just Griffin’s third game with the Pistons since being traded from the Los Angeles Clippers. A perennial All-Star, he finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Drummond had 23 points and 20 rebounding, dominating without having to deal with Whiteside underneath.
“He’s a big time talent,” Spoelstra said of Griffin. “I think he’s one, he’s a multi-year All-Star. He’s somebody that you have to contend with and game because he’s going to bring his game to you.”
While the Pistons’ frontline caused problems, it was guard Ish Smith who created the most damage. He scored 16 of his team-high 25 points in the first half, helping them withstand a second-quarter 13-0 run by the Heat and take a 54-50 lead into halftime.
The back-and-forth continued in the third quarter. Led by Dragic, the Heat regained control. He scored 15 points in the quarter on 6 of 9 shooting. He converted a three-point play after being fouled on a layup by Griffin to put the Heat ahead 73-71 with 2 minutes, 34 seconds remaining.
That set the stage for a similar fourth quarter. Just when it appeared the Pistons would run away with it, the Heat made yet another rally. Detroit opened by scoring the first eight points to take an 84-77 lead.
As they did the previous night against the Sixers, the Heat refused to fold. They regained the lead on Wayne Ellington’s 3-pointer that made it 99-96.
The Pistons responded with a 9-2 run that ended with a dunk by Drummond. A Dragic four-point play made it interesting during the closing seconds but Detroit clinched it on a corner 3-pointer by Smith with the shotclock winding down.