The Miami Heat faced and defeated the Detroit Pistons in a wild overtime win on Monday night. Josh Richardson led the way with 27 points to help the Heat sustain a 120-115 victory. But, something was extremely notable on the Heat’s starting lineup, there was no Hassan Whiteside due to a knee injury. The big man has averaged a total of 12 points and 14 rebounds in eight games this season, and was the best potential matchup against Pistons big man Andre Drummond. But, there was no answer for Drummond out on the floor as he finished with 25 points and 24 rebounds.
The Pistons closed the period on a 21-9 run in the fourth quarter to force overtime. Dwyane Wade missed two free throws with with the Heat ahead by two with 19 seconds to play. Then, Andre Drummond followed it up with a game-tying tip-in shot with 0.5 seconds to play, a crucial situation that Drummond took advantage of since Whiteside was out.
Andre Drummond (24 PTS, 23 REBS) tips it in to force OT between the @MiamiHEAT & @DetroitPistons!#NBA League Pass 👉: https://t.co/L3VurkatG8 pic.twitter.com/FQLK4HNUkc
— NBA (@NBA) November 6, 2018
J Rich = Clutch
Nonetheless, J Rich came up big when it mattered most. On top of the 27 points, he tallied eight rebounds and four assists to end the night, hitting four free-throws in a row with 2.1 seconds left in the game to seal it.
Richardson scored nine of Miami’s 15 points in overtime. He finished with a game-high 27 points on 11 of 21 shooting and three of five shooting in overtime.
https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/1059646679136133120
https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/1059620617601851392
Vintage Night
Dwyane Wade sealed a plus nine rating last night as he passed Clyde Drexler for 30th on the NBA’s All-Time Scoring List in the first half. It’s a huge and honorable feat accomplished by the 16-year veteran.
He concluded the night with 18 points, two assists and one rebound on 8 of 15 shooting. With less than a minute to go in overtime, Wade came up with a block on Langston Galloway. He then grabbed an offensive rebound on the other end that led to a jump ball, all of that while the Heat were up by one.
Dwyane Wade scores 18 PTS off the bench to fuel the @MiamiHEAT to victory! #HEATCulture pic.twitter.com/LwWDCs9dJd
— NBA (@NBA) November 6, 2018
Passionate Blake Griffin
Griffin played with utmost passion on Monday night, finishing the night with 2 points and 15 rebounds and seven assists. The only issue was that he wasn’t able to help out his team in overtime. His passion unfortunately led him to six fouls, forcing him to foul out of the game, his first of the season.
Blake Griffin buries the triple as the shot clock expires!
He's up to 20 PTS, 8 REBS midway through 3 quarters.
WATCH on #NBA League Pass: https://t.co/L3VurkatG8 pic.twitter.com/Eddkz1ilGz
— NBA (@NBA) November 6, 2018
He continued to support his team on the sidelines but that wasn’t enough to help stop Josh Richardson and the Miami Heat to victory.
Other Silent but Solid Contributors
Miami Heat:
- Goran “The Dragon” Dragic put up 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
- Kelly Olynyk concluded with 13 points, five rebounds and four assists.
- Adrice “Bam” Adebayo had 11 points, eight rebounds and one assist.
- Justise Winslow finished with nine points, six rebounds and five assists.
- Rodney McGruder had eight points five rebounds and two assists.
https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/1059827244321796096
Detroit Pistons:
- Reggie Jackson had 25 points, four rebounds and six assists.
- Langston Galloway finished with 21 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
- Glen Robinson III help up to 16 rebounds and two assists.
Langston Galloway is heating up for the @DetroitPistons! He has 15 PTS in the third quarter alone!#NBA League Pass: https://t.co/L3VurkatG8 pic.twitter.com/JQDDIGCY6f
— NBA (@NBA) November 6, 2018