Miami

Heat Open Trip With Sixth Straight Loss

The Heat began a six-game road trip with their sixth straight loss on Tuesday

The Miami Heat extended their skid to six games with a 99-90 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.

The loss came in the first game of a six-game road trip for the Heat. Miami has been struggling mightily and has also battled numerous injuries at the same time. The Heat are now 10-26 on the season and have the most losses in the Eastern Conference.

Goran Dragic returned to the Heat lineup after missing time with an ailing back. The news wasn't as good for some other players however as Hassan Whiteside, Justise Winslow, Tyler Johnson and James Johnson were all unavailable. Miami was forced to use only eight men and had another makeshift starting lineup.

The lack of depth became a problem for Miami in the second half. While the game was close at the half, Phoenix ran away with the win in the third quarter. The Suns outscored the Heat by 13 in the thid quarter alone to pad the lead going into the final 12 minutes.

Dragic appeared to be in top shape with a team-leading 24 points. The guard scored 22 of those points in the first half alone. Dragic also added nine assists in the losing effort.

Willie Reed made the most of his opportunity to play in place of Whiteside. The center had a double-double with 22 points and 18 rebounds to go along with two assists and two blocks.

Miami will continue the trip on Wednesday when it visits Sacramento to take on the Kings at 10:30 p.m.

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