Miami Heat vs Portland Trailblazers(107 - 100) December 1, 2009

Michael Beasley had 27 points and Dwyane Wade had a double-double in the Heat's win in Portland.

Heat bounce back with win over Blazers
By Kerry Eggers, for NBA.com
Posted Wednesday December 2, 2009 2:16AM

PORTLAND, Ore (NBA.com exclusive) -- For the Miami Heat, it was a much-needed win.

For the Portland Trail Blazers, it was further proof that things aren't right - especially at the defensive end.

Miami's 107-100 victory was only its third in the last eight games, but it was one of the Heat's best of the season in the first stop on a four-game West Coast road trip. They jumped out in front from the start and never trailed, shot .533 from the field and held off a late Portland charge to improve their record to 10-7 this season.

"It was a good step forward," said Miami coach Erik Spoelstra, a Portland native who had many friends and family at the game.

"A great bounce-back game coming off two losses," said Heat guard Dwyane Wade, who collected 22 points, 12 assists and five rebounds in an all-around performance.

Nobody was bigger in a Miami uniform, though, than Michael Beasley. The second-year power forward scored 18 of his season-high 27 points in the first half, grabbed eight rebounds and helped Miami fight off a Portland team with a size advantage up front.

"He was terrific tonight," Spoelstra said. "Some of the best plays Mike made were the ones when he had patience, waited to see how they were going to cover him. If they double-teamed he was making great passes to the outside. It shows you how far he has come."

Portland has digressed, it would seem, after a 12-5 start. The Blazers have lost three in a row, yielding an average of 107 points and .549 shooting. Prior to that, they were ranked No. 1 in the NBA in both categories.

"That's the third straight game we've given up plus-30 points in the first quarter," Portland coach Nate McMillan said. "We dug ourselves a hole. We can't get close enough, and we can't get stops. That's something we haven't done well the last three games ... [opponents] are getting open looks and knocking their shots down."

Defense wasn't the only problem. Portland shot .391 from the field, with only reserve Juwan Howard (6 for 8) making more than half his shots. "We got 87 shots, but had one, maybe two guys knocking down shots," McMillan said. "We get the thing down to six points a couple of times late, and we turn the ball over or have a bad possession. Then it's just execution."

Brandon Roy led Portland with 25 points, but 14 of them came in a first quarter in which he shot 5 for 9. The final three quarters, the all-star guard made only 4 of 16 shots, finishing 9 for 25.

"They did a good job of collapsing when I got to the middle after that first quarter," said Roy, who also had five rebounds and five assists in his 42 minutes. "They did a good job defensively on our pick-and-rolls. I have to make better reads out of it.

"Really, I have to play better for 48 minutes, and we have to establish some type of rhythm. We're not playing well in spots, we're not scoring in stretches, and our defense gets pretty bad."

Portland went without three of its top forwards. Travis Outlaw [foot] and Nicolas Batum [shoulder] are out until at least the All-Star break. LaMarcus Aldridge sat out Tuesday with a right knee bone contusion.

"We have to go with who we have," McMillan said. "Without LaMarcus, we were basically running our offense through Greg and Brandon, using pick-and-rolls to try and get some movement and spread their defense.

"We just don't have enough guys playing well at the same time. Three, four, two guys at times ... but we need both units to step in and play well, shoot well, defend well. There's just not that much margin for error."

Oden grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds to lead a 49-34 domination on the boards, and the 7-foot center also blocked four shots. But he made only 4 of 13 from the field and 5 of 8 from the line - just one of many Blazers whose accuracy was lacking Tuesday night.

Beasley and Wade, meanwhile, had plenty of help. Quentin Richardson scored a season-high 20 points to go with a team-high nine rebounds. Jermaine O'Neal battled Oden and scored 14 points, sinking two key jumpers down the stretch.

"It was a great way to start the trip," Wade said.

The Blazers were looking forward to hitting the practice court for three days before their next action Saturday at home against Houston.

"We have to get our heads straight and chill out," Oden said. "We all hate to lose three in a row, but we have to keep our heads up. There are a lot of games to play. These three games are behind us. We come in tomorrow and we go to work."

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[julchu0]

I was more surprised at Oden not being hurt

[streetbasketball3]

@OPL21stJS  and wade pulls up the hoop as usually in the beginin aslo lol

[serge41684]

This is last 2 years ago

[ryanpanergo]

lol i thought this was todays game

[OPL21stJS]

Omg 2day the Heat beat the Trailblazers with a comeback to force n overtime. And the Heat win 107-100 same score lol pretty weird.

[guyvasq676]

HeatTeo, usually I attempt to reminence what exactly it was like well before I could dunk for real. After I applied the exercise program at 50inch vertical[dot]com - my game has been improving quickly

[TeRRoRx503]

juan,miller had good game but everyone else got stuck at the starting line