Heat snap their 3-game skid
Heat finally get game on their terms, survive in overtime
Miami holds on to win 120-115 in overtime without Whiteside.
DETROIT — This was the type of game the Miami Heat had been waiting for.
A grind. Able to load up defensively against specific players. A double-digit lead midway through the fourth quarter.
But this season, apparently nothing will come easy. It didn’t Monday night at Little Caesars Arena.
Surviving some shaky foul shooting and
the power play of Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin while playing in the injury absence of Hassan Whiteside, the Heat survived the Detroit Pistons 120-115 in overtime, snapping their three-game losing streak.
With Goran Dragic back from a onegame injury absence and scoring 21, the Heat achieved collectively what Drummond and Griffin could not for Detroit.
Drummond, working mostly against Bam Adebayo, closed with 25 points and 24 rebounds. Griffin, who fouled out late in the fourth quarter, added 24 points and 15 rebounds.
But with the Heat getting 27 points from
Josh Richardson, 18 from Dwyane Wade and 13 from Kelly Olynyk, they return for a four-game homestand in a better frame of mind.
The Heat pushed to a 12-point lead midway through the fourth quarter. But with Dragic missing a free throw and an open 3-pointer late in regulation, with Wade missing both free throws on a trip to the line in the final minute of the fourth quarter, the Heat had to go the extra five minutes.
The Pistons forced the extra period on a Drummond tip-in with five-tenths of a second to play in regulation.
A Richardson 3-pointer with 65 seconds left put the Heat up 116-115, with the Heat holding on from there, with Adebayo adding a pair of free throws with 2.1 seconds to play on a clear-path foul.
Five degrees of Heat from Monday’s game:
1. Dragic steps up: After sitting out for the first time this season in Saturday’s loss to the Hawks, Dragic was back from his foot pain and back in attack mode, with a team-high 14 points at halftime, but also with a missed free throw late in regulation that loomed large.
He said he was curious how he would come out of the game.
“I feel like I’ve had enough time least healed. We’ll see,” he said.
Dragic took a cortisone shot last week, but there have not been any follow-up injections.
“It’s sore,” he said, “but it’s not like it was before.” He said getting back on the court would get the injury out of mind.
“When you’re playing,” he said, “you forget about all that kind of stuff. I’m not worried about the game. I’m more worried about after the game.” that this thing at said
2. Whiteside steps out: The Heat opened with Adebayo at center with Whiteside out.
Adebayo then found himself in early foul trouble, with Kelly Olynyk taking over in the middle, this time playing off the bench.
Whiteside downplayed concerns that his sore right knee could become a repeat of the extended absences last season with his left knee.
“It’s hard to say,” Whiteside said when asked to compare the two injuries. “But I don’t think it’s super serious right now. It feels better than it did yesterday. I’m not worried about it.”
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra undergo evaluation Tuesday.
“Things are going to happen,” Spoelstra said. “You could see he didn’t have quite the same mobility in the second half [Saturday] night.”
With one more bid body, overtime well could have been averted Monday night. said Whiteside would
3. Wade moves up: With his second basket, Dwyane Wade moved past Clyde Drexler into 30th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
“Every time you pass one of the greats — I’m not going to say ‘pass’ -- but you move up the ladder with some of the greats of the game, it’s definitely an accomplishment,” he said. “It’s definitely something not that you aim for, but it’s something in the same breath is always cool.”
Wade had some spring in his step Monday, with two dunks in the first half, having entered the night with a single dunk this season. He added another dunk late in the third period.
4. Role reversal: Cast at point guard in Dragic’s absence Saturday in Atlanta, Justise Winslow this time started at power forward to give the Heat a better defensive matchup against Griffin.
Even in that role, Winslow still deftly helped facilitate the offense, while also filling out the rest of the box score.
5. Wayne waits: Wayne Ellington’s second appearance of the second was even more limited than the first, this time playing 3:40, all in the first half, missing both of his attempts.
Spoelstra instead went with Derrick Jones Jr. for longer minutes, with the infusion of athleticism helping the Heat compete on the glass. 1. With two of last year’s top three scorers now in the NBA, the Hurricanes will need several players to fill that void. Can they? Vasiljevic, among the Hurricanes’ top 3-point shooters last season, has reshaped his body and lost 20 pounds.
2. Coach Jim Larrañaga said it will be key for the Hurricanes to improve their 3-point shooting. Last season, the Hurricanes shot 36 percent from 3-point range.
3. Miami will have 12 non-conference games to get ready for play in the ultra-competitive ACC. With many new faces, can the Canes find the chemistry to again exceed expectations?
New coach inherits 10 newcomers
2017-18 record:
Projected 2018-19 finish: 12th in C-USA. Season opener: FAU vs. Florida Tech, Wednesday, 7 p.m., FAU Arena, Boca Raton.
Notable games: at UCF (Nov. 11), FGCU (Nov. 25), at Miami (Dec. 22), at Illinois (Dec. 29), at UAB (Jan. 3), at Marshall (Jan. 17), at Western Kentucky (Jan. 19), FIU (Jan. 23), at FIU (Jan. 26), Rice (Feb. 16).
Top returning players: Junior F Jailyn Ingram is the Owls’ lone returning starter after averaging 8.7 points and
4.3 rebounds. First-year coach Dusty May likes his leadership and plans to use him in a more perimeter-oriented roleplayer. Senior G Anthony Adger started for the first half of last season before coming off the bench down the stretch, averaging 6.2 points and 2.3 assists per game.
Others to watch: G Michael Forrest (26 ppg, 5 rpg, 4 apg, 3 spg as Sun Sentinel’s large schools Player of the Year in Broward County at Blanche Ely HS), F Xavian Stapleton (6.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg at Mississippi State).
Three keys to success 1.
2. 3.
Gators chase deeper postseason run
2017-18 record:
Projected 2018-19 finish: Fifth in SEC
Season opener: UF at 17 FSU, 9 p.m., Donald L. Tucker Center, Tallahassee
Notable games: Oklahoma (Nov. 21), No. 10 Michigan State (Dec. 8), at Mississippi State (Jan. 15), at No. 20 TCU (Jan. 26), No. 2 Kentucky (Feb. 2), at No. 11 Auburn (Feb. 5), at No. 6 Tennessee (Feb. 9), at No. 2 Kentucky (March 9).
Top returning players: Senior Jalen Hudson (15.5 ppg) fired 40.4 percent on 3-pointers last season. The Gators also should get a boost from senior KeVaughn Allen (11.0 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 2.4 apg) and junior Keith Stone (8.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg). Others to watch: The Gators expect a lot of out of superstar freshman point guard Andrew Nembhard, whom coach Mike White already has said passes better than any freshman he has ever coached. He is expected to contribute immediately.
Potent Seminoles to lean on depth
2017-18 record:
Projected 2018-19 finish: Eighth in ACC. Season opener: No. 17 FSU vs. UF, 9 p.m., Donald L. Tucker Center, Tallahassee.
Notable games: No. 24 Purdue (Nov. 28), at No. 5 Virginia (Jan. 5), Miami (Jan. 9), No. 4 Duke (Jan 12), at No. 22 Clemson (Feb. 19), at No. 8 UNC (Feb. 23).
Top returning players: Senior F Phil Cofer (12.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg) suffered a preseason injury, but FSU hopes to have him back by the heart of ACC play. G Terance Mann (12.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.6 apg) and C Christ Koumadje (6.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg) should be strong leaders.
Others to watch:
Iliana Limón Romero