The Miami Heat entered Friday night’s contest on the second night of a back to back set and you could surely tell. It wasn’t an exciting affair, as Miami Heat contest often aren’t, but they were able to do enough.
After three quarters of pretty up and down basketball between the two teams, the Miami Heat were able to attain some separation and separation that would last. While it was a great team effort, overall, the Miami Heat have one guy in particular to thank for his fourth quarter heroics.
The Miami Heat needed Goran Dragic to erupt as he did on Friday to help them overcome back to back game fatigue.
Goran Dragic started to warm up at the end of the third, finishing that period with six or so points and after going scoreless for most of the night. Those were apparently his tune up moments though as he totally unleashed the throttle in the fourth period.
At one point, scoring 14 of the Miami Heat’s prior 17 points about midway through the last quarter, Goran Dragic was not going to let the Miami Heat lose. With Jimmy Butler being the guy who’s led the Heat on most nights throughout their recent resurgence, it was late in the fourth period before Jimmy Butler even scored his first point of the quarter in this one.
You can thank The Dragon for that. He was driving by guys for mid-range pull ups, he was dicing guys up on the outside for open looks, and he was creating for his teammates.
He was in rare form and what a thing it was to behold. Since the injury that kept him out of the NBA Finals last year for most of it, he hasn’t looked like himself.
Even with the time elapsed thus far in this season, he had yet to really look like himself. He appears to be headed back there and games like Friday go a long way towards showing it.
The Miami Heat will need this Goran Dragic if they hope to make another run through the East. It’s sure good seeing him do it again, because that gives the team and fanbase the hope that they can do just that.