Miami Heat vs. Brooklyn Nets: Postgame Grades and Analysis
The Miami Heat visited the Brooklyn Nets Tuesday, and with Chris Bosh (calf) out, Dwyane Wade made it rain on the hosts in the 95-91 victory.
Wade poured in 28 points to lead all scorers, and Luol Deng added 18. For Brooklyn, Mason Plumlee narrowly missed a double-double on 21 points and nine rebounds, while Deron Williams scored 15 and dished 11 assists.
Things got a little soggy inside Barclays Center on a rainy night in Brooklyn. A 31-minute rain delay began with one minute and 47 seconds remaining in the first quarter after a steady drip began falling onto the court, recalling a similar delay at Verizon Center in January that held up the Houston Rockets and Washington Wizards.
The arena's crack engineering team solved the issue using a tarp, according to the YES Network, and they probably sprayed some Flex Seal on the roof too. The delay seemed to benefit the Heat, who stretched a three-point lead out to 15 during the second quarter.
The Nets staged a late run on the visitors, cutting a 10-point deficit to just two inside the final minute, but the comeback came up short.
Here are player grades from Miami's rain-dance victory in Brooklyn:
| Norris Cole | C- |
| Dwyane Wade | A- |
| Luol Deng | B+ |
| Udonis Haslem | B- |
| Justin Hamilton | D |
| Rest of Team | B+ |
| Deron Williams | B- |
| Sergey Karasev | C+ |
| Joe Johnson | B- |
| Kevin Garnett | C |
| Mason Plumlee | B+ |
| Rest of Team | C- |
Miami Heat
Dwyane Wade, Shooting Guard
Wade may have been questionable to go before the game due to a stomach virus, but he must have chugged some Pepto-Bismol or flat ginger ale before the game. Whatever it was, it worked, because he came out with a dozen points in the first quarter.
Wade shouldered the load for Miami, putting down 28 points on 12-of-24 shooting. He pulled out numerous vintage moves, with step-back jumpers and silky strokes to befuddle the Nets defense.
Considering Wade played so well and the Heat barely beat a mediocre Brooklyn squad, it does not bode well for the team with Bosh out for an uncertain amount of time.
Grade: A-
Luol Deng, Small Forward
Luol Deng splashed a pair of treys in his 10-point first half, and he stepped up with Bosh out. Deng's defense also helped keep the Nets in check, especially in the first half when Joe Johnson had only one field goal.
Deng should be asking for time-and-a-half after playing 41 minutes in the win and racking up 18 points, six boards and four dimes.
Grade: B+
Norris Cole, Point Guard
Norris Cole did not see his name called very often, and he was entirely forgettable on the offensive end with four points on eight shots, one assist and one turnover. However, Cole's defense came in handy for helping hold Brooklyn to just 39 percent shooting.
Cole is an opportunistic, feast-or-famine kind of scorer, but he plays with enough intensity to warrant big minutes in the rotation. However, when Bosh is out, a slow offensive night from Cole can be damaging.
Grade: C-
Justin Hamilton, Center
With Chris Bosh sitting out, Hamilton did himself a disservice by picking up two early fouls. He was a no-show all night, and that comes as awful news for the Heat, who are severely shorthanded in the frontcourt. Hamilton finished with three points, two rebounds and three fouls in 17 minutes.
Losing Josh McRoberts possibly for the entire season deals a significant blow to the rotation, and while it didn't derail the Heat Tuesday, Hamilton's play—and his mere presence in the starting lineup—serves as evidence of how thin the team is up front.
Grade: D
Udonis Haslem, Power Forward
Haslem actually enjoyed his highest point total of any game this season, with the exception of the 102-92 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 8 when he netted eight points. He doesn't have much left in the tank, but he can get by on fumes and veteran savvy when his team needs him.
Not only did Haslem come away with seven points, he even dished a couple of assists. But his plodding on the defensive end makes it hard for coach Erik Spoelstra to give the veteran big minutes, and his haul of 25 points against the Nets is likely a one-off occurrence.
Grade: B-
Rest of Team
Shabazz Napier tickled the twine with a trio of three-pointers. He led the reserves with 11, helping the team reach a robust total with 35 bench points.
Mario Chalmers dropped 22 points on the Nets in Miami's 95-83 win in Brooklyn on Nov. 17. He only scored 10 Tuesday night, but he did a little bit of everything else with seven rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Shawne Williams quietly put up 10 points of his own off the bench, with seven coming in the first half.
Chris Andersen squeegeed the glass and swatted a couple of shots as well. The Heat really need one or two more guys who can do that.
Grade: B+
Brooklyn Nets
Deron Williams, Point Guard
Williams struggled to find his shot, but he had no trouble efficiently dishing dimes. He also made his way to the line seven times to help bolster his scoring, but he got his 15 points with just four field goals and misfired on four of his five three-point attempts.
Williams had 10 assists to his credit before committing his first turnover, which came with just under three minutes remaining in the game. Then he committed another turnover a minute later with a risky pass, and that didn't help Brooklyn's attempt at a late comeback after pulling within four points of Miami.
Another eight-point run followed that, but it was too much to overcome.
Grade: B-
Joe Johnson, Small Forward
Joe Johnson finished the first half on just three points after missing five of his first six shots. He found a rhythm from the floor in the second half with 5-of-8 shooting and three of his four treys to finish with 16 points.
This was a night when the Nets needed a takeover from Johnson to match Wade's scoring on the other end, but he wasn't quite up to the task.
Grade: B-
Mason Plumlee, Center
Mason Plumlee had a big first half with 13 points against Miami's limited frontcourt. However, the sophomore also committed four turnovers in that half.
He cleaned up the turnovers after that and ended on 21 points. Five of his nine boards were of the offensive variety, and he would probably volunteer to play against the Heat every single night if he could.
Grade: B+
Kevin Garnett, Power Forward
Kevin Garnett didn't bring much in the way of offense, but he at least provided a presence on the boards. KG snagged 10 rebounds to go with his four points, and he schooled Hamilton during the first half.
Grade: C
Sergey Karasev, Shooting Guard
Sergey Karasev provided a spark with nine first-half points, but he couldn't help the Nets slow down the Heat on the other end.
YES Network cameras also showed him holding his side and wincing during a timeout, and he exited the game for good during the second half with soreness on that side.
Grade: C+
Rest of Team
Mirza Teletovic returned from his three-game absence caused by a hip pointer. He played just 11 minutes, but he did connect on a three-pointer and ended with five points.
Bojan Bogdanovic got whistled for a crucial loose ball foul following a missed shot by Wade with the Nets trailing by two and only 12 seconds remaining. It was a tough time for the call, and it was a borderline infraction, but Bogdanovic was all tied up with Deng.
Alan Anderson missed all three of his field-goal attempts and finished with two points to go with five fouls. That's not exactly what you want out of a reserve guard.
Jarrett Jack made himself a culprit off the bench, missing five of his six field-goal attempts, committing four turnovers to go with five points and posting a game-low floor rating of minus-10.
Grade: C-
What's Next?
The Heat complete their back-to-back when they travel home to host the Utah Jazz on Wednesday. The Nets also face the second game of a back-to-back on Wednesday, heading north of the border to visit the Eastern Conference-leading Toronto Raptors.
