Oct 12, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat forward Justise Winslow (20) passes the ball as San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker (9) looks on during the first half at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
The Miami Heat got their first win of the preseason Monday with a 97-94 win over the San Antonio Spurs.
Led by a group of youngsters, the Miami Heat outscored the San Antonio Spurs 26-10 in the fourth quarter to earn their first exhibition win Monday night at AmericanAirlines Arena to improve to 1-2 this preseason.
The Spurs pulled no punches, leading the game with their aclaimed starting five, the Heat got a taste of Gregg Popoviche’s front line featuring Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge and Tim Duncan.
Erik Spoelstra and the Heat, however, were still left without starting center Hassan Whiteside, having to roll out 4/5 of the starting five–Goran Dragic, Dwyane Wade, Luol Deng, Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem getting the start in place of Whiteside.
Whiteside missed his third-consecutive game with strained right calf. Josh McRoberts (general knee soreness) also sat this one out.
The Spurs took an 84-71 lead into the fourth quarter but, thanks to Miami’s bench of youngsters, the Heat rallied back to take the win.
Gerald Green was impressive, scoring a team-high 17 points in the game (though he went 0-4 from deep, but 7-7 at the foul line). Tyler Johnson had himself his best game since breaking his jaw in summer league, scoring 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting (2-of-3 from 3-point range) in a reassuring performance.
Starters Wade and Deng scored 16 and 11 points apiece, while Bosh had nine points and seven rebounds. Dragic finished with just five points.
Next: Defensive Duo: Winslow and Richardson