Miami Heat Use Big Second Half to Beat Houston Rockets, 109-89
By Wes Goldberg
Heavy Minutes for Hassan Whiteside
Nov 1, 2015; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside (21) and Houston Rockets forward Montrezl Harrell (35) exchange words during the second half at American Airlines Arena. The Heat won 109-89. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Hassan Whiteside, after a breakout season, wasn’t expected to play heavy minutes even for a starter this season. The idea is that he will play around 25 minutes a game, but on a night when Chris Bosh was struggling (started 0-of-6 from the field) the Heat needed Whiteside’s efficiency.
The big man ended up playing a team-high 34 minutes while Bosh played 25. He finished with a loaded stat line and impacted all of Houston’s shots at the rim. When the Rockets outside shots stopped falling, they had nothing. Hence the huge run the Heat went on.
It was one of those games when Whiteside had an opportunity to be Miami’s best player, and in many aspects he was. It’s the kind of domination that the Heat will need from him this season, but hopefully not on a nightly basis.
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