Wade’s big first half, Dragic’s late surge carries Heat in win over Trail Blazers

Make no mistake about it: the first half belonged to Dwyane Wade on Saturday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.

The Miami Heat, however, needed a late fourth-quarter rally fueled by Goran Dragic to preserve a 120-111 win over the Portland Trail Blazers after Portland rallied back from a 19-point deficit.

Wade, the soon-to-be Hall of Famer playing in his 16th — and final — NBA season, scored 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting and tacked on three rebounds and an assist to help Miami (3-2) earn back-to-back wins for the first time this season.

Dragic, the 11th-year NBA veteran in his fifth year with the Heat, scored a team-high 28 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter and a pair of threes during Miami’s rally in the final three minutes to preserve the victory.

The Heat trailed Portland 15-13 when Wade checked in for the first time with 5:35 left in the first quarter. The 12-time All-Star then scored five points in just 54 seconds on a turnaround fadeaway jumper and a three-pointer to ignite a 9-0 run that shifted the momentum in Miami’s favor early.

By the end of the first quarter, Wade had 7 points. By halftime, Wade had made 7 of 8 shots from the field — including a 4-for-5 mark from 3 — and had 18 points. He closed the first half with a corner 3 with 0.6 seconds left on the clock to give Miami a 57-42 lead.

The Heat’s lead shrunk to just 10 points — 89-79 — after the third quarter. Portland (3-2) tied it at 96-96 with 6:19 left in regulation after CJ McCollum hit back-to-back threes and eventually took a 106-103 lead before Miami closed on a 17-5 run in the final 2:48. The shooting spree, in which Miami went a perfect 5 for 5 from the field and 3 for 5 from the free-throw line, included back-to-back three-point shots by Dragic and Josh Richardson to regain the lead.

In addition to leading the team in scoring, Dragic hit a milestone in the first quarter: His second basket of the game pushed him over the 10,000-point mark in his NBA career.

Kelly Olynyk chipped in 19 points, five rebounds and five assists in the win, while Hassan Whiteside was a menace on defense with 16 rebounds and six blocks. Justise Winslow added 10 points, five rebounds and three steals in his first game of the season. Rodney McGruder posted 14 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.

Trail Blazers All-Star Damian Lillard scored a game-high 42 points.

The Heat closes out a four-game homestand on Monday against the Sacramento Kings.

This story was originally published October 27, 2018 at 10:31 PM.