Dragic, helps Heat escape from LA
Guard scores winning basket in final seconds
Sometimes you have to take control on your own.
Goran Dragic decided the Miami Heat’s three-game western swing was one of those times.
So there were 23 points at the start of the trip against the Portland Trail Blazers — and a loss. Then there were a season-high 33 points against the Sacramento Kings — and an overtime loss.
Finally, there was salvation with a Friday breakthrough, 30 points and the game-winning basket with 15.2 seconds to play in a 92-91 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center. With Hassan Whiteside and Dwyane Wade missing the entire trip due to injuries and Josh Richardson dealing with a sore foot along the way, Dragic resolved that enough was enough.
“The last three games I have really been confident,” he said. “But sometimes, you know, when D-Wade is out, Hassan and J-Rich, I have to be aggressive, I need to make things happen.”
In the balance stood the qual-
ity of Saturday’s return flight from Los Angeles and the weekend off granted by coach Erik Spoelstra.
So after Julius Randle missed a 10-foot hook with 23.4 seconds to play, and after center Bam Adebayo secured the rebound with 20.3 seconds to go and the Heat down one, Dragic took off. With eyes only on the rim. His 10-foot running floater was true, closing out the scoring, with the game ending after a missed 14-foot step-back jumper from Lakers guard Isaiah Thomas.
“I kind of pushed the tempo a little bit,” he said of his winning foray. “Basically they didn’t cover the elbow so it was a little bit more space. The only thing I was afraid [of was] that Spo was going to call a timeout. I get inside the paint, I took the shot that I like, the ball went in.”
Nine-game road losing streak over. Push back up the Eastern Conference standings resumed.
“It was really, really refreshing,” he said. “We lost nine games on the road. It was kind of a tough stretch for us. Finally, the basketball Gods were on our side.”
The next step is keeping Dragic at this level and getting Wade back, after Dragic initially had deferred upon Wade’s return at the Feb. 8 NBA trading deadline. Wade has been dealing with a balky hamstring but was able to work out during the trip.
“He’s been playing like that for a while — and even with Dwyane,” Spoelstra said of Dragic, with the Heat now off until Monday’s game against the Denver Nuggets at the start of a two-game homestand at AmericanAirlines Arena. “And we need Dwyane and Goran playing at an extremely high level, both of them, at the same time.
“Before Dwyane got hurt, I loved where our team was offensively. We had great balance and I’m sure it was probably on opponents’ minds, ‘How are we going to prepare? OK, we have to cover Dwyane, [Wayne] Ellington and down the line.’ ”
It is the type of depth of scoring the Heat somewhat lacked in the victory over the Lakers, with Dragic scoring his 30, but no other starter with more than 12.
“The more weapons you have, the better chance you have,” Spoelstra said. “But Goran was simply desperate on this road trip. He’s playing with an urgency that we need right now to get to the finish line.
“All these games are so important. That’s his form of leadership, letting guys know that he’s playing at his highest level of play.”
Friday’s performance was the 25th time in Dragic’s career he has scored 30 or more in a game. But when factoring in Wednesday’s 33, it was the first time he had scored 30 or more in consecutive games.
The previous time Dragic was at Staples Center it was in a cameo role during last month’s NBA All-Star Game. Friday night, he made a statement that he deserved to be considered among the league’s elite.
“That’s what leaders to. He’s a captain and he’s an All-Star,” Heat forward James Johnson said. “Sometimes you’ve got to make All-Star plays for your team and he came through.
“Not surprising to us. That’s what he’s been doing all year and he wanted continue doing that.”