The Miami Heat lost Hassan Whiteside early and fell to the San Antonio Spurs by a lopsided final score of 119-101 on Tuesday.
Coming off the bench once again, Whiteside picked up a flagrant 2 foul after throwing an elbow. The foul resulted in an ejection, and could also possibly could a suspension as well. The officials determined that Whiteside's elbow into Boban Marjanovic was with intent. This is not be the first time in Whiteside's young career, that he has found himself in potential trouble with the league.
Before being tossed from the game, Whiteside played 25 minutes and had 14 points to go along with six rebounds. Despite being one of the more exciting and talented centers in the league, Whiteside has difficulty controlling his emotions at times. Veterans on the Heat including Dwyane Wade have tried to work with Whiteside in the past, and this may end up another teaching moment.
In a game that was not in much doubt for most of the second half, Miami struggled to get anything going. The Spurs hold the second best record in the NBA at 44-8, and showed why in this one. San Antonio stifled Miami's offense, while scoring at will. It was a display of championship basketball, and it showed a clear disconnect between the teams.
Wade led Miami's scoring with 20 points and five assists in 31 minutes This was the final game before the All-Star break, and Wade will be able to rest for most of the upcoming week.
Wade and Chris Bosh will now head to the All-Star festivities this weekend to represent the Heat. The second half of the season is set to begin on Feb. 19.
