The Miami Heat received a huge effort from Hassan Whiteside in their 116-109 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.
Whiteside poured in 22 points to go along with 11 rebounds and five blocks in the win. A lot of that work came during the fourth quarter in which Whiteside nearly played all 12 minutes. The big man was busy swatting balls away on one end, and tipping them in on the other end. The game was one of the best for Whiteside this year both offensively and defensively.
Miami as a team finished strong with 34 points in the fourth quarter alone. The Heat also played well in the third quarter giving them 64 combined points in the second half. The strong play turned what was a ten-point deficit into a seven point win.
Whiteside wasn't the only player to post a big line as Chris Bosh was also busy. The All-Star had 29 points and six rebounds of his own. Bosh turned the ball over times but also added two steals and four assists.
Goran Dragic was having a solid game until he was ejected. Dragic who had eight points and eight assists in 27 minutes was shown the door in the third quarter. The guard was upset with a foul call and received a technical for body language. It was the second technical Dragic received in a span of roughly three minutes. Going into the game, Dragic had never received a technical foul as a member of the Heat and had never been ejected from an NBA game.
Gerald Green aided the effort off the bench with 17 points in 32 minutes. Green would nail two three-pointers in a short time frame during Miami's excellent second half of play.
The Heat will stay home and welcome the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
