Whiteside fuels Heat win over Charlotte
The words Hassan Whiteside and “ace reserve” presumably have never been written in the same sentence.
But that’s exactly what Whiteside was on Wednesday, and the Heat needed every one of his 18 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks off the bench in a 91-84 victory over Charlotte that pushed Miami back into the eighth and final playoff seed in the East.
Playing off the bench for the second game in a row and only the second time since signing a $98 million deal with Miami in 2016, Whiteside played just six first-half minutes but logged 15 minutes in the second half (including nearly the entire fourth quarter) and made an enormous impact, crashing the glass, dunking and anchoring the Heat’s disruptive zone defense.
Miami, which entered having scored at least 114 points in a franchise-record five consecutive games, was dismal offensively for large parts of this game, shooting 14 for 47 during one second and third quarter stretch and committing 18 turnovers for the game (but just one in the fourth quarter).
But the Heat (30-34) received a big lift from Kelly Olynyk, who scored 22 points, and got three key fourth quarter baskets from Dwyane Wade, who shook off a 1 for 10 start and received loud cheers from the Charlotte crowd.
That was enough to overcome a 2 for 11 shooting night from Dion Waiters and a 5 for 14 night from Josh Richardson. Miami won despite 11 second quarter turnovers (its most for any quarter this season) and despite shooting just 41.8 percent from the field and missing five of a mere 11 free throw attempts.
Charlotte mustered only 15 points in the third quarter on 6 for 23 shooting and closed at 36.6 percent for the game. Miami moved one game ahead of Charlotte, which entered the night in eighth.
