That was on full display in the seven-game matchup with the Hornets. They lost 97-90 on their home floor in Game 6 and were blown out 106-73 in Game 7 on May 1, Sunday.
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Point guard Goran Dragic had a game-high 25 points as the Miami Heat advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals, routing the Charlotte Hornets 106-73 in Game 7 in Miami on Sunday. “(The Hornets) didn’t rotate so quickly.
Miami, which never trailed, also got 15 points from Luol Deng, 12 points from Dwyane Wade and 10 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks from Hassan Whiteside. Said Dragic about what awoken his breakout game: “I’m going to be honest…” Luckily for the Raptors they won and now have a chance to restart against the Heat.
Walker proved that he can lead his team when it counts, as he bumped up his scoring average to 22.7 points per game during the playoffs.
Remember back in 2012, when the Miami Heat fell 3-2 in their Eastern Conference Finals series against the Boston Celtics, and fans thought the season was over and the Big Three experiment had failed? Walker shot 3-of-16 and scored only nine, while Jefferson put up a mere four points and two rebounds.
Dragic and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra praised Walker despite his poor final game. Thompson had the tough chore of stopping him. We can take this and learn from it. I am proud of our guys. “We just had to grow as a team”. Goran was not discouraged. He found his opportunities to be aggressive once their defense started to weaken.
The Heat didn’t need heroics from Dwyane Wade tonight, but he still offered world-class energy and intensity.
The money he made was actually right in line with a vast majority of other point guards who were extended directly before the rise of the salary cap. Whether it was luck or just hard work, the Heat consistently came up with loose balls, like Johnson grabbing an offensive rebound and finishing at the end of the third quarter while surrounded by Hornets, or rookie Josh Richardson beating four Hornets to a loose ball even while up 30 in the fourth quarter.
Curry, dressed in a dark blue blazer and black shirt, emerged on the bench midway through the second quarter and received big cheers during a timeout.
By comparison, Dragic will be making $15.9 million in 2016-17, $17.0 million in 2017-18, $18.1 million in 2018-19, and $19.2 million in 2019-20. As head coach Steve Clifford noted in the aftermath, “it still doesn’t take away from the fact that our guys fought like hell for three games”. His knee told him that was a bad idea, but he did resume light shooting Saturday in hopes of playing Game 3.
With Mason Plumlee going up for a one-handed dunk late in the first quarter, Andrew Bogut blocked the shot, then got a hand up to bother Al-Farouq Aminu’s putback attempt. The Hornets didn’t have any answers for his breakout performance, which allowed Wade to check out with 3:31 left in the third quarter, per NBA.com. The circumstances may inspire optimism for what the Hornets can do if they are fully healthy next postseason. They made us better, “said Spoelstra”. During wins, we saw multiple players step up and it seemed to be the other way around in losses. The SkyForce won the D-League title last week, after setting a league record for regular-season victories….
Lin said he also appreciates Clifford’s candour and honesty. This wasn’t (a) 4-0 (sweep).
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Holland recently attended a Charlotte Hornets game but was unable to meet Lin.
