Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Heat’s 10th in a row
Miami wins again as Whiteside leads way.
MIAMI —The one thing this Heat winning streak had lacked was a display of dominance by Hassan Whiteside. Now it has that, too.
With Whiteside powering to 30 points, 20 rebounds and three blocked shots in 27 minutes, the Heat extended their winning streak to 10 with a 125-102 victory Saturday night over the Philadelphia 76ers at AmericanAirlines Arena.
The only streak longer in the NBA this season was a 12-game run by the Golden State Warriors, a team the Heat defeated during this climb back from an 11-30 record at midseason.
Whiteside matched the highestscoring half by a Heat player this season with his 23 points at the intermission.
Through the first nine games of the Heat’s winning streak, Whiteside had not scored more than 18 points. He now appears to be warming up, coming off 18 points and 18 rebounds Wednesday against the Atlanta Hawks before his totals Saturday despite sitting out the fourth quarter.
The odds were stacked in
Whiteside’s favor, with Rookie of the Year frontrunner Joel Embiid still away from the 76ers with a bruised left knee and fill-in Jahlil Okafor ruled out shortly before tipoff with knee soreness.
That had Whiteside sizing up Nerlens Noel from the outset. And it wasn’t pretty for the 76ers’ big man, who had been craving this type of front-line role.
It was Whiteside’s first career 30-20 game and the eighth in the regular season during the Heat’s 29 seasons. He became the second NBA player with such a performance this season, joining the Sacramento Kings’ DeMarcus Cousins.
It was the first 30-20 by a Heat player in over a decade, last accomplished by Shaquille O’Neal in a 2006 playoff game against the Chicago Bulls. The last time it was done in a regular-season game by a Heat player was in 2000 by Brian Grant.
Still, this wasn’t solely an inside job.
Guard Dion Waiters opened 5 of 5 on 3-pointers, and closed with 21 points and seven assists, supported by 16 points and eight assists from Goran Dragic.
From the 76ers there were 21 points from power forward Ersan Ilyasova and a move toward more lottery pingpong balls.
Besides their overall streak, the ninth doubledigit winning streak in franchise history, the Heat also have won eight in a row at home.
The Heat had to alter their lineup at the start of the third quarter, with starting small forward Rodney McGruder remaining in the locker room due to an illness. That had Okaro White starting the second half at small forward.
Saturday was the second game on White’s second and final 10-day contract. The Heat by Monday must either sign him for the balance of the season or release him.
Even with that switch, the Heat didn’t miss a beat, up 100-75 going into the fourth quarter.
When the Heat pushed their lead to 27 in the third period, it was their largest lead of the season, eclipsing a 23-point lead in a November victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Whiteside was up to those 23 points on 11-of-13 shooting and 13 rebounds by halftime, when the Heat led 64-52, after pushing to an 18-point lead in the second period.
Whiteside was dominant at the outset, already with a double-double with 2:20 left in the opening period. His 17 first-quarter points were the most by any Heat player in a period this season, eclipsing a 16-point quarter by Waiters against the San Antonio Spurs. Along the way, Whiteside in that first quarter recorded his 500th career blocked shot.
That effort helped push the Heat to a 17-point firstquarter lead on the way to a 32-17 lead going into the second period.
Beyond Embiid and Okafor being out, the 76ers further altered their mix with starting small forward Robert Covington out with a bruised right hand, replaced by NBA journeyman Gerald Henderson.
The 76ers already have been playing in the injury absences of 2016 No. 1 overall draft pick Ben Simmons and offseason free-agent acquisition Jerryd Bayless.
The Heat remained with their now-usual lineup of Whiteside, Dragic, Waiters, Luke Babbitt and McGruder, as they continue to play in the absences of Justise Winslow, Josh Richardson, Josh McRoberts and Chris Bosh.
The 76ers won the season’s previous meeting 101-94 Nov. 21 in Philadelphia, behind 22 points from Embiid, on a night Whiteside closed with 32 points and 13 rebounds. That Philadelphia victory snapped the Heat’s five-game winning streak against the 76ers.
The Heat have now won the past four meetings at AmericanAirlines Arena.
The game was the last on a four-game homestand for the Heat, to now be followed by a four-game trip that opens Monday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
This game was the third game on a four-game trip for the 76ers, now with losses in five of their past six games.