The Miami Heat appeared like a completely different team Tuesday night than the team that let the Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies embarrass it to start the team’s six-game home-stand. Against the Toronto Raptors, Miami played inspired basketball to come away with a much-needed 115-95 win.
The Heat utilized a third-quarter surge to blow this game open. Carlos Arroyo — who started in place of Mario Chalmers, who missed the team’s morning shoot-around — made a jumper with six minutes and 44 seconds left. After the Raptors came away empty-handed on its ensuing possession, Dwyane Wade nailed a three-pointer to extend the lead to 77-63. About two minutes later, Chalmers found Wade underneath the basket for a reverse layup. Wade later made a tough fallaway jumper to make the lead 83-68. By the time the third period had ended, Miami was on top, 91-74.
This game was rather strange for the Heat. In addition to Arroyo starting, Yakhouba Diawara started in place of Quentin Richardson, whose hamstring injury continues to bother him. Dwyane Wade was also not Flash. He only scored 19 points on 8-of-19 shooting from the field. Although he came on in the second half, Wade took far too many ill-advised shots in the first half. Tuesday night, it was Michael Beasley who did most of the heavy lifting with the scoring.
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Beasley finished tying a career-high with 28 points on 11-of-19 shooting. He matched Chris Bosh point-for-point (which is fantastic) and showcased his array of offensive weapons. There is no question that Beasley would be a far more prolific scorer if he wasn’t playing with Wade. He just needs to take upon the role as the second option, taking a bulk of the shots. Beasley also grabbed 11 rebounds and had a nice block on Demar DeRozen in the second quarter. Beasley has made some strides this year.
Daequan Cook received significant minutes for the first time since Dec. 3 Tuesday. Wade picked up his second personal foul in the first quarter, and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra decided to put Cook in. The former Ohio State Buckeye shot two-for-four from the field and knocked down a three-pointer. Don’t be surprised to see Cook get some playing time for the next few games.
Dorell Wright continues to expand his role with the team in what is becoming the youngster’s best professional basketball season. The 6-foot-9 forward drafted straight out of high school in 2004 contributed 14 points for the Heat. He shot 7-of-11 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds. Wright’s jump-shot looks so much better than it did when he first came into the League. He should be starting when Richardson is injured, not Diawara.
Jermaine O’Neal did not play significant minutes. The Raptors utilize the perimeter-oriented Andrea Bargnani as its center, so O’Neal only played 23 minutes. He nonetheless made the most of his playing time, contributing 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting. During one third-quarter sequence, O’Neal performed a couple nice post moves to score over Bosh.
Arroyo also made the most of his 21 minutes of action. He added 12 points on four-of-six shooting from the field for Miami. Arroyo also dished out three assists. I envision Arroyo staying with the team because he is an offensive weapon the Heat can use if it needs some scoring.
Udonis Haslem scored eight points on four-of-five shooting and grabbed six rebounds. Joel Anthony added eight rebounds. It was uplifting to see the Heat play with some heart and enthusiasm. Miami’s next game is a tough one, though. It plays the Orlando Magic Thursday at 8 p.m. on TNT.
Tags: Miami Heat, NBA, Toronto Raptors
