Whiteside on fire as Heat hold off the Blazers
Topscores with 28 points as Wade chips in with 22 points
Portland, Oregon: Hassan Whiteside had 28 points and 11 rebounds, and the Miami Heat snapped a three-game losing streak with a 118-108 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night. Dwyane Wade added 22 points and nine rebounds for the Heat in the first of a five-game road trip.
CJ McCollum had 33 points for the Trail Blazers, who had won three straight games but were coming off a five-day layoff. The loss snapped an eight-game winning streak for Portland at home.
Miami led by 15 points heading into the final quarter but Portland rallied with a 9-2 run capped by Seth Curry’s 3-pointer that pulled the Blazers to 96-88. Evan Turner’s layup and free throw got the Blazers closer.
McCollum’s 3-pointer closed the gap to 101-100 with 6:54 left. James Johnson answered with a 3 for Miami to momentarily slow Portland’s momentum until Meyers Leonard’s 3.
Whiteside’s basket and a pair of free throws from Johnson kept Miami in front 108-103, and the Heat were able to hold off the Blazers the rest of the way.
Miami was coming off an 0-3 homestand, capped by a 95-88 loss on Saturday to Indiana, The Heat had 24 turnovers in the loss.
Heat coach Eric Spoelstra inserted Kelly Olynyk into the starting line-up, replacing Johnson. It was Olynyk’s sixth start of the season.
Portland were coming off a 132-105 victory at home over the Jazz last Wednesday. Jusuf Nurkic did not play because of right knee soreness, but he started against the Heat.