The Miami Heat honored Shaquille O'Neal and then came back to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 115-107 on Thursday.
Miami erased a 19-point deficit to take the lead going into the fourth quarter. From there, the Heat would continue to build on the lead and put the game away. It was one of Miami's most energetic second halves of the season, and came after O'Neal's big moment on the court.
O'Neal had his number retired during a quick halftime ceremony. Team president Pat Riley introduced the big man after his jersey rose to the rafters. O'Neal would pay tribute to his former teammates with kind words for Udonis Haslem, Dwyane Wade and Alonzo Mourning. Both Haslem and Mourning joined O'Neal at the podium during the ceremony.
With O'Neal watching and praising him on television, Hassan Whiteside added another double-double to his stat sheet. Whiteside had 21 points, 12 rebounds a steal and a block. The center brought loud cheers from the crowd with a thunderous dunk during Miami's comeback.
Miami used some three-point plays to help it pick up the win down the stretch. Goran Dragic and Tyler Johnson both found the bottom of the net on trey attempts late. Dragic ended up with 19 points and seven assists, while Johnson had 14 points and six assists himself.
Justise Winslow was strong again as well with a team-high 22 points. Winslow also had 11 rebounds for a double-double to go along with four steals.
Miami will need to rest fast as it will travel to New Orleans for another game on Friday at 8:00 p.m.
