Heat Let Big Lead Slip Away in Loss to Nets

The Miami Heat built up a 14-point lead going into the half before giving it all back in a 111-105 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Monday.

At one point in the third quarter, Miami led by 16 and looked to be cruising to an easy win. That was before the Nets uncorked a 34 point third quarter as opposed to Miami's 19. That theme continued in the fourth quarter when Brooklyn outscored Miami by five.

The Heat attempted a comeback in the final minute of play but fell short. Down ten with just over a minute to go, Miami nailed several clutch baskets. With some inefficiency from Brooklyn on free-throws, the Heat cut it all the way down to four with nine seconds left. That would be as close as Miami could get however.

The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for Miami and came in the first half of a back-to-back. Miami is currently in the middle of playing four games in five days and it could explain some of the tired legs and missed shots in the final quarter.

After missing practice due to an illness, Hassan Whiteside fought hard in 33 minutes of play. Whiteside was tested by Brooklyn in the fourth quarter multiple times at the foul line. Due to the center's well-known struggles with free-throws, Brooklyn opted to send him to the line more often than that. To Whiteside's credit, he made the most of those opportunities.

In all, Whiteside finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds, five blocks and was 4-6 from the free-throw line. There were multiple instances where Whiteside had chances for three-point plays due to the multitude of fouls. If the center can improve his free-throw percentage, Whiteside could begin to see minutes in clutch moments on a more regular basis.

Chris Bosh posted a double-double for a third straight game with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Bosh has taken his game to another level this week, and was also strong from three-point land in this one. Bosh ended up 5-5 on his three-point tries, while going seven of eight overall with his field goals.