Portland Trail Blazers defeat the Miami Heat 105-96
Despite a stellar display from LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, the Portland Trail Blazers managed to defeat the Miami Heat 105-96 at the American Airlines Arena on Tuesday night.
Portland coach Nate McMillan kept his starters fresh and did a great job of spreading minutes around to his bench. The Trail Blazers are now tied for fifth place in the Western Conference with the Denver Nuggets.
The most significant aspect of the result is that it was Miami’s fifth consecutive defeat; their longest losing streak of the 2010-11 season. On the other hand, it was a lucky night for the Trail Blazers, as they extended their winning streak to four games. The win against the Heat was also their seventh straight on the road this season.
Aside from a weak defence, the reserves played a vital role in Miami’s defeat, as it was the second straight game where Miami got virtually nothing from them. The Portland bench outscored the Heat 41-8.
The Blazers got a big night from forward LaMarcus Aldridge as he scored a team-high 26 points. Portland forward Gerald Wallace once again rocked the American Airlines Arena with his strong play off the bench with 22 points and nine rebounds.
Brandon Roy and Andre Miller were energetic enough to cool-off the Big Three, as they scored 14 points apiece in the victory. Miami guard Wade did all he could as he displayed a fabulous all-round game once again with 38 points, five assists and six rebounds. While King James once again filled the stat sheets in a loss with 31 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists.
Match Analysis
Both teams started the game at a crisp pace as they scored 25 points each in the opening quarter. The second quarter was a one-man show as Brandon Roy led the Trail Blazers with 12 points on 7-of-7 shooting from the field. With Aldridge and Wallace playing shots around the court, Portland carried a 57-51 edge into the locker room.
In the third quarter, the Heat came out determined to get the home crowd back into the game, and ended up trailing by just two points heading into the final stanza. A three-pointer and a driving lay-up shot early in the fourth quarter kept Miami close at 84-80 with eight minutes to go in the game. However, the Trail Blazers went on a 14-3 run to walk away with a hard-fought victory.
Miami Coach Erik Spoelstra was disappointed after the defeat, "Frankly, we do not have a lot of answers how to get over this hump. The only thing we can do is keep grinding and not let go of the rope."
Tags: