The Miami Heat hoped tonight that two full days of rest would help them come into Game 2 of their National Basketball Association first round series against the Charlotte Hornets ready to protect home court.
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Behind the revitalized play of Dwyane Wade, the Miami Heat swept the first two games from the Hornets by an average of 22 points – Wade’s scoring average in the series.
Batum injured his ankle while stepping on the foot of Justise Winslow during the Hornets’ Game 2 loss to the Heat.
Whiteside added 13 rebounds and two blocks, and Goran Dragic pitched in with 18 points while Josh Richardson scored 15. “We’ve got a lot of things that we can get better at – that we need to get better at”.
Among the Hornets’ options is to move starting shooting guard Courtney Lee to small forward and add guard Jeremy Lin to their starting lineup.
The same Charlotte team that charged back from a 23-point deficit against the Spurs on March 21 looked far from that in Game 2 against the Heat. Game 3 will take place at 5:30 p.m. E.T. on TNT. “I feel like we just kind of got off-base on that”. This is the 14th time Miami has taken a 2-0 series lead. The second quarter stands out, with Miami gaining a big lead going into halftime.
NOTES: The Miami Heat honored former Syracuse G Pearl Washington, who died on Wednesday, with a video montage and moment of silence before Game 2. He shot 42.6 percent overall and 34.8 percent from three in 35 minutes per game.
The Heat scored from every angle in the first half, shooting a team record 74 percent in the first half to establish a 72-60 lead.
“It’s nothing new for me”, Hornets guard Kemba Walker said of Jefferson’s performance.
“Despite the fact that we didn’t make threes, our offense is more than good enough to win”, he said after the second game. After scoring 31 points in game 1, Luol Deng continues to be solid for Miami, contributing 16 points while shooting over 50 percent. Fouled Out-None. Rebounds-Charlotte 54 (Jefferson, Batum 7), Miami 40 (Whiteside 13).
Marvin Williams missed a jumper to start the sequence, and then he and Cody Zeller went on a run of something resembling failed volleyball.
After two games, the dominant narrative of this series has flipped the script on what many pundits had expected.
The Heat reeled off another 40-plus-point quarter in the first half en route to a 115-103 win over the Hornets. Aldridge sat out the entire fourth quarter along with Leonard and Tony Parker while Tim Duncan and Danny Green made brief appearances.
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Head coach of the Hornets Steve Clifford, said “We’ve got to find a way to be able to put together 48 good minutes of defense”.
