Miami Heat: Rodney McGruder can’t be stopped and more

The Miami Heat added another game to their win column yesterday, with a nice 110-87 victory over the New York Knicks.

Finally, Miami Heat fans got to enjoy a good, old-fashioned blow out victory.

While Kelly Olynyk‘s buzzer beater against the Washington Wizards certainly felt good, there’s something to be said for the fact that Miami was able to outplay the New York Knicks, 110-87.

Even with Wayne Ellington, James Johnson, Dion Waiters and Justise Winslow, all still sidelined with injuries.

Sure, the Knicks aren’t exactly Eastern Conference contenders. And yes, they too were without the likes of Kristaps Porzingis.

But a 23-point win is a 23-point win, nevertheless.

So what went right?

#ScavengerSZN

There’s just no other way to put it: Rodney McGruder is en fuego lately.

He’s averaged 19.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.0 steal in 35.6 minutes of play, over the last three games, shooting a whopping 64.0 percent from the field and 62.0 percent from downtown.

And last night, he finished with 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting (including going 3-for-3 from 3-point land), alongside six rebounds, five assists and a block.

"“He just does the simple things great and that’s not an easy thing to do,” said head coach Erik Spoelstra. “Always in the right spot. He’s going to run his patterns and cuts full speed. He’s going to get the best defensive matchups every night and find a way to help you, and he’s been doing that night in and night out.”"

Yup, that about sums it up. After all, there’s a reason his nickname is The Scavenger.

The 27-year-old did more than just physically contribute to the team’s efforts though. His hustle-hard mentality was clearly contagious, causing all five starters to finish with double-digit scoring.

Kelly O

Unfortunately, Tony Fiorentino has moved on from Heat broadcasting, and in his place a new nickname for Olynyk has appeared.

The good news is that despite how awful it is, he’s still able to play some top notch basketball.

After saving the day against the Wizards, the 7-footer came up strong last night too.

It wasn’t so much his raw numbers (11 points, three rebounds, six assists and one steal in 30 minutes), but the moments during which he stepped up in.

The center was slotted into the starting lineup, with Derrick Jones Jr. out with a foot injury, working in tandem with fellow big man Hassan Whiteside. And obviously, the combination worked, as Whiteside himself had an impressive showing of 22 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks in just 27 minutes.

There you go, Kelly O.

What third quarter woes?

By now, most of Heat Nation dreads the team’s third quarters.

For one reason or another, things always tend to fall apart at some time during them, often causing Miami to then have to play catch up the rest of the way.

However, that wasn’t at all a cause for concern against the Knicks.

In fact, they outscored New York 45-20 during the third, ultimately putting them up 92-65 by the time the final quarter rolled around.

Now that’s how the Heat should always come out of the half.

Now 2-2, the Miami Heat look for their next victory on Saturday, against the Portland Trailblazers.