Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
In the tip of time
Whiteside tip-in at buzzer against Pistons boosts Heat’s playoff odds
Heat beat Pistons on final second tip-in.
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — By the fingertips of Hassan Whiteside.
Which could prove the difference in this playoff chase for the Miami Heat.
With Whiteside scoring on a tip-in just before the buzzer, the Heat survived a wild late scramble to defeat the Detroit Pistons 97-96 Tuesday night at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
It was frantic, it was desperate, but it ultimately was Whiteside standing tallest on a night he closed with 17 points and nine rebounds.
With Goran Dragic scoring 28 points and getting the ball to the rim for Whiteside’s tip in, the Heat secured the playoff tiebreaker against the Pistons after tying the season-series 2-2, by virtue of a superior Eastern Conference record.
Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy went in calling it the closest thing to an elimination game for his teetering team.
Instead it was the Heat who teetered, before finding a way, despite 25 points from Pistons guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and 19 from guard Ish Smith.
It came down to the Heat in possession with 11.3 seconds
left down one, after a wild sequence that included forcing a jump ball, winning, somehow, on Whiteside’s tip-in.
The Heat were without starting shooting guard Dion Waiters for the fifth consecutive game, with Josh Richardson again starting in his place.
That allowed the Pistons to shift Caldwell-Pope, their best perimeter defender on Dragic, with less concern about the scoring of Rodney McGruder or Richardson.
Van Gundy shook up his starting lineup, with Jon Leuer in at small forward and Tobias Harris utilized as a reserve.
The Pistons also remained without Reggie Jackson, with the point guard possibly being shut down for the season amid his uneven play following his return from his preseason knee issue.
A Marcus Morris 3-pointer drew the Pistons within 85-82 midway through the fourth quarter.
That’s when James Johnson converted a driving dunk that steamrolled Morris and was fouled with 5:40 to play. He failed to convert the free throw, leaving the Heat up 87-82.
But a second-chance 3-pointer by CaldwellPope and a second-chance dunk by Andre Drummond allowed the Pistons to tie it 87-87 with 4:34 to play. Fouled on the play, Drummond converted the free throw for an 88-87 Detroit lead.
McGruder then scored on a driving floater for an 89-88 Heat lead, with Richardson following with a three-shot foul on Caldwell-Pope, who converted the final two free throws for a 90-89 Detroit lead.
Even with the Pistons loading defensively toward Dragic, he was able to draw Morris’ sixth and final foul with 2:58 left. With the Heat 16 of 23 at the line to that stage, Dragic converted both for a 91-90 Heat lead.
The whistles continued, with Tyler Johnson called for his foul and Smith sent to the line, making just the first for a 91-91 tie.
Dragic then was off with a 3-pointer but drew a charging foul on Stanley Johnson in transition with 2:16 left.
With 1:56, Whiteside was fouled. Having made his only two attempts to that point, he this time only made the second, for a 92-91 Heat lead.
The Heat then forced a Harris miss, got an offensive rebound off a Tyler Johnson miss, only to see Rodney McGruder miss a jumper.
And then a seeming dagger 3-pointer by CaldwellPope with 45 second to play, with a Heat turnover following.
The Heat then went down 96-92, but got a break when the Pistons were called for stepping on the line on the ensuing Heat inbounds play. Dragic converted that free throw and then scored in the lane to draw the Heat within 96-95.
The Heat then forced a jump ball with 14.7 seconds left while going for a steal.
The Heat won that jump and survived a near steal by the Pistons to wind up with the ball in their frontcourt down one with 11.3 seconds left, setting up Whiteside’s winning tip.
The Heat tried to buy time without both Dragic and Whiteside at the start of the fourth quarter. The result was Detroit slicing their deficit to 80-75 early in the period.
The Pistons then trimmed their deficit to one before James Johnson converted a 3-pointer for an 83-79 Heat lead, ending an 8-0 Detroit run, with Dragic and Whiteside returning at that stage.
The problem for the Heat was their remaining guards stood 4 of 15 through three periods, with Wayne Ellington, Richardson and Tyler Johnson all struggling.
The Heat went into the fourth up 78-69, after pushing to a 12-point lead in the third. Dragic was up to 24 points by then.
The Heat pushed to a nine-point lead early in the second period, then went into the intermission up 55-50, with Dragic up to 16 points by that stage.
The Heat again went 10 deep early, with Udonis Haslem the only available player not to see action in the first half.
The first period ended in a 24-24 tie, with Dragic with eight points in the opening period.
Pistons forward Marcus Morris then was forced to the bench early in the second period with his third foul, his anger over the call leading to a technical foul.
Morris then was called for his fourth four 28 seconds into the third period, remaining in the game at that stage.
Van Gundy was called for a technical foul shortly thereafter, with Dragic missing the free throw to drop the Heat to 11 of 17 from the line.
The Heat lost their previous visit 107-84 Nov. 23, with Dragic and Whiteside each limited to six points.
The Heat entered having loss four of their previous seven, at 1-3 in the injury absence of Dion Waiters, with losses in four of their previous five road games.
The Pistons entered having won 14 of their previous 19 home games, after going 9-9 in their first 18 home games.
The game opened a back-to-back set that concludes Wednesday against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, at the close of this threegame trip. The Heat then will play consecutive home games, Friday against the Knicks and Sunday against the Denver Nuggets.