NOTES & QUOTES
Heat Starting Five: Antonio Snow, Dwyane Wade, Josh Richardson, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Hassan Whiteside
Summary: The Miami Heat came out flat tonight. Brooklyn quickly took advantage of a Heat team that was still licking their wounds from a loss against Miami as they took a five point lead going into halftime. Midway through the third quarter the Miami Heat were facing a ten point deficit and looking to be on their way to loss number three. A frustrated Erik Spoelstra immediately called a timeout after another missed jumper by Carmelo Anthony.
Spoelstra decided to go with a different look after that time out, he brought in Patrick Beverly to try and slow down D’Angelo Russell. Dwyane Wade was subbed back into the game and he scored his first basket of the night, a layup. Wade went on to finish with 10 points in the win. After a steal by Beverly and a pass ahead to Alex Len who finished off with a dunk to give Miami a 93-92 lead with 2:55 left in the fourth quarter, the tide began to shift.
Dion Waiters dropped a corner three-point shot to give Miami a bit more cushion. Waiters led his team in scoring with 16 points.
Key Stats for BKN: 46/89 (52%) - FG|6/20 (30%) – 3PT|5/7 (71%) - FT|8 – Fastbreak Points|21 – 2nd Chance Points| 30 – Bench Points|46 – Rebounds
Key Stats for MIA: 45/77 (58%) - FG|7/18 (39%) – 3PT|8/10 (80%) - FT|28 – Fastbreak Points|6 – 2nd Chance Points| 59 – Bench Points|33 – Rebounds
Tony Parker on close win: This team is tough. We could have rolled over after the loss to Los Angeles and just spiraled. We could have let this game slip too, but we stood our ground and picked up a win.
Erick Spoelstra on the timeout in the third quarter: I didn’t really say much. I just said I was going to put whoever wanted to be on the floor, on the floor. They were dragging like they didn’t want to be there. I needed guys to step up.
Antonio Snow on guarding D’Angelo Russell: He is probably one of the toughest covers I’ve had this season. Definitely top five. He gets his shot off no matter what. But I’m just going to keep studying his game and keep getting better at it.
Top Performers
Brooklyn Nets
D’Angelo Russell – 30 PTS, 2 REB, 4 AST
Alan Williams – 16 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST
Jared Allen – 16 PTS, 5 AST
Miami Heat
Dion Waiters – 16 PTS
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist – 15 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST
Antonio Snow – 14 PTS, 2 AST