Nobody since Kobe Bryant in 2005 has scored so many points in so few minutes; Kobe had 62 in 36.
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Whiteside’s ability gives Miami something that many teams have been dying for, a dynamic game changing center in the prime of their career.
Haslem, who said he slammed bottles on the ground and estimated that his speech was “about 75 percent” profanity-laced, never got into the game for the Heat.
The Houston Rockets look for their first victory when they take the road for the first time. However, he was efficient at the charity stripe, sinking 12-of-14 free throws. He finished the night with 25 points, 15 rebounds, three steals, and two blocks.
The only difference was which team was rolling. Miami came out firing and the energy was up in the building as soon as the third quarter got underway. Nothing about this start should make you feel differently about Houston than you did before the season, but it’s an ominous beginning, for sure.
The Heat’s first lead of the night came on a Bosh 3-pointer with 8:11 to play at made it 87-85.
DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry added 15 points each for the Raptors, who are 3-0 for just the third time in team history.
Miami’s perimeter issues also showed up. That wouldn’t happen for long however, as Bosh finally got it going and scored 10 points in the middle of another huge run for the Heat.
Not ranked: Goran Dragic, James Ennis, Josh Richardson, Amar’e Stoudemire, Chris Andersen, Erik Spoelstra, Micky Arison, Pat Riley, Burnie, Eric Reid, Tony Fiorentino, Alonzo Mourning, The Ghost of Mike Miller, Late Arriving Heat Fans.
Rookie Justise Winslow, left, and the Heat harassed James Harden… Miami kept up with the Cavs for the majority of the game; Wade brought the Heat to as close as 3 after a vintage dunk over Tristan Thompson but the Cavs would turn it up a notch after that.
Miami was down 65-44 early in the second half.
Chandler Parsons also made his season debut, playing 12 minutes before resting the second half, as planned.
Bosh, Miami’s second-leading scorer coming in, didn’t score until he hit a three-pointer with 10:06 to play. Against Houston, Whiteside shot the ball 15 times which were the most he’s done all year and dropped 25 points. Jonas Valanciunas had 19 points and eight rebounds. “Me and Hassan continue to communicate…I’m always looking for him”.
“We haven’t had a rhythm yet, from training camp or preseason at all”, Harden said. “We needed another big guy on the roster.” coach Kevin McHale said.
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No. 1: Houston, we have a problem – A rough start to the season is one thing. “So us being down 21 or however much it was, we were just going to keep competing”.
