Miami Heat gives up 18-point lead, misses potential game winners in loss to Pistons
After suffering their worst loss of the season —a 23-point blowout in Detroit the night before Thanksgiving — the Miami Heat badly wanted to even the score with the Pistons on Tuesday night.
Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh each had a shot at redemption, but both failed.
Wade missed a short jumper with 2.9 seconds left before Bosh hit back iron on a wide open 21-footer as time expired, and the Pistons survived for a 93-92 win at AmericanAirlines Arena.
“I had a good look,” said Wade, who finished 8 of 21 from the field with 19 points. “It could have been better. But Reggie Jackson came over and moved me over from where I wanted to be.”
Said Bosh: “If we draw those plays up again, I think we take those shots. We had our chances. You have to give them credit.”
Bosh said afterward he didn’t think he got the final shot off in time anyway.
The Pistons (17-12) made plenty of big shots. Like they did in the first meeting, the Pistons went wild from long-distance against Miami, knocking down 15 of their 29 three-point attempts after making a season-high 16 against the Heat in the first meeting.
Seven of those three-pointers came in the second quarter when Detroit turned an 18-point deficit into a 54-52 halftime lead.
The last five three-point bombs came over the final nine minutes of the game and erased a seven-point fourth quarter lead for Miami.
“That was a painful loss,” said Heat center Hassan Whiteside, who finished with 16 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks, but had a momentum-changing turnover.
With 4:39 left after a defensive stop, Whiteside’s turnover off an errant pass led to a Jackson three-pointer that trimmed Miami’s lead to 87-86.
“Sometimes we were late closing out on the threes,” Whiteside said. “But they hit a lot of tough ones, too.”
Jackson finished with a team-leading 18 points.
But 11 of Detroit’s three-pointers came from the bench: rookie Stanley Johnson made four, backup point guard Steve Blake had four and Anthony Tolliver made three. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope ended up hitting the final three-pointer and then the game-winning 17-foot jumper with 1:07 remaining.
Dragic rests
The Heat played its first game of the season without starting point guard Goran Dragic, who sat out with inflammation in his left wrist.
Dragic, who had been playing with an injured thumb on his right hand, said his latest injury happened in Sunday’s win over Portland. He said an MRI and X-ray of his wrist came back negative and he’s hoping to play Friday against the Pelicans.
Twelve-year veteran Beno Udrih, whom the Heat acquired in the Mario Chalmers trade to Memphis last month, started in Dragic’s place and provided a steady hand with 14 points and six assists in 34 minutes.
“He was great,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “That’s why you like Beno. He’s a veteran who is a poised, experienced point guard. You have him as insurance when you’re not fully healthy. When things happen in this league, you put him and don't miss a beat.”
▪ Guard Tyler Johnson, who sat out for the sixth time in his last seven games with a left shoulder impingement, said he’s hoping to return to action on Friday.
“I haven’t shot yet,” he said. “We’ll probably do that the next couple days, maybe [Wednesday] or Thursday. We’ll start shooting and see if it can hold up a whole practice. If it can, then we'll be ready to go.”
Manny Navarro: 305-376-3612, @Manny_Navarro
This story was originally published December 22, 2015 at 10:11 PM with the headline "Miami Heat gives up 18-point lead, misses potential game winners in loss to Pistons."