Bosh, Whiteside Push Heat Past Portland
Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter
MIAMI (CBSMiami/SportsDirect) -- Miami Heat fans were treated to a very entertaining Sunday matinee.
Led by forward Chris Bosh's 29 points and center Hassan Whiteside's 22 points and 11 rebounds, the Heat outlasted the Portland Trail Blazers to win a 116-109 shootout Sunday afternoon at AmericanAirlines Arena.
The Heat (16-10) matched a season-high 12 3-pointers made to secure its fourth win in its past five games.
Five Heat players scored in double figures as guard Gerald Green and forward Luol Deng each had 17 points and guard Dwyane Wade had 18.
Guard Damian Lillard finished with a game-high 32 points to lead Portland (11-18), which dropped 13 3-pointers of its own, but lost its third consecutive game and fourth in the past five. Lillard also had nine assists and guard C.J. McCollum finished with 20 points and six assists.
Green came off the bench and hit four 3-pointers, including back-to-back threes that put the Heat ahead 103-97 with 4:48 left in fourth, a lead it would not relinquish.
The Blazers cut the deficit to four points at 110-106 with 1:30 left on a layup by center Mason Plumlee.
An alley-oop dunk by Whiteside off a perfect feed from Wade swung the momentum back in the Heat's favor and helped Miami put the game away.
The Heat had one of their best shooting performances of the season overall, shooting 57.3 percent (43 of 75) from the field.
The Blazers outrebounded the Heat 42-30. But the Heat outscored the Blazers 40-36 in the paint and rallied after Portland had led by as many as 12 in the first half.
Miami won for only the fifth time in 14 games this season when it has not outrebounded an opponent.
The Heat prevailed despite losing point guard Goran Dragic in the third quarter after he picked up a pair of technical fouls.
Frustration over foul calls prompted referees Ed Malloy and James Williams to deal the Heat with four technical fouls overall in the quarter as Wade and Whiteside were also hit with a technical.
NOTES: The Heat sat out G Tyler Johnson (shoulder) and F Josh McRoberts (knee). ... Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said he wants Johnson to go through a full-contact practice without a setback before playing him in a game. Johnson, who played for five-plus minutes against Brooklyn on Dec. 16, has missed five of his past six games. ... McRoberts missed his sixth consecutive game. "He had a bone bruise and we were trying to calm it down but, it just didn't get better. The only thing that we felt could calm it down would be just rest," Spoelstra said. ... Trail Blazers F Cliff Alexander (left knee) missed his seventh game of the season. ... Portland coach Terry Stotts praised G Damian Lillard's ability to become more of a leader this season. Stotts also said G C.J. McCollum has worked hard to get stronger physically. Lillard and McCollum entered Sunday's game averaging a combined 44.4 points per game -- the third-best scoring duo in the league.
(TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Sports Direct Inc. contributed to this report.)
