Feeling themselves at home
The Miami Heat are feeling themselves at home – as they should. They are now 11-0 at AmericanAirlines Arena, a franchise record they further boosted following a 135-121 overtime win over the Atlanta Hawks. With the victory, the Heat improved to 18-6 on the season and only trail the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference standings.
Wednesday’s win featured an impressive performance from the Heat. True to their grit, they rallied from a six-point deficit with under a minute to play and forced an extra period. The Heat then went berserk and fired away 18 unanswered points, mostly from Bam Adebayo and Duncan Robinson.
It’s hard to pinpoint the key man, though, which is also what Heat have been about all season. The play on both ends is just too team-oriented and you never know which ones are going to explode. Adebayo had a 30-point triple-double, Jimmy Butler had a triple-double, Robinson had 34 points on 10 three-pointers, and undrafted rookie Kendrick Nunn scored a career-high 36.
Such a scattered production can be expected from the team every night, and it is sure to be a big hurdle against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Another tough test for the Lake Show
The Lakers’ kept their latest winning streak going on Thursday with a 96-87 road win against the Orlando Magic. It’s now at five and they furthered their Western Conference-leading record to 22-3.
The victory was a good start for the team’s five-game road trip, an east coast tour where they’ll meet three of the top six teams in the opposing conference. LeBron James powered much of the charge in the Magic win by logging in his sixth triple-double of the season (25 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists). It was much-needed as Anthony Davis had an off-night and only scored 16 points on 6-for-20 shooting.
The Lakers eased past the Heat in their match-up last November 9th at Staples Center, 95-80. James and Davis scored 25 and 26 points, respectively, two of the highest point totals in the game. LA’s team defense, meanwhile, had the Heat missing 19 of their 23 shots in the fourth quarter.
Considering that the stage is now set in enemy territory, James (25.8 PPG, 10.8 APG) and Davis (27.2 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 2.6 BPG) will face a much loose, more confident Heat team, one that would have the home crowd on its side. It will be interesting to see how well the superstar duo can respond and lead the Lakers in such a setting.
The Lakers are 12-1 on the road this season. They are also averaging 120 PPG and winning by 16.6 PPG in their current streak.
PREDICTION:
The Heat have had two-straight close calls at home before locking a win. We may see that scenario again, but since they’re continuing to learn how to play in adversities, they’ll eventually edge out the Lakers. They win, 108-105.
