The Miami HEAT host the Suns tonight and try to extend their win streak to seven.
Tonight the Miami HEAT host the Phoenix Suns in the AAA in South Beach, FL. It's the first of two contests this season, with the rematch slated for February 11th in Phoenix. Miami is currently riding a six-game winning streak, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks 118-95, the Dallas Mavericks 110-104, the Charlotte Bobcats 97-81, the Atlanta Hawks 104-88, and the Orlando Magic twice, 120-92 on the road and 101-99 at home on Saturday. They'll hit the road for a two-game swing afterward, facing the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Wednesday and the Raptors in Toronto on Friday.
The Suns are closing up a three game roadtrip. They started out on Friday with a 98-91 win in Charlotte, following with a 103-97 win last night in Orlando. They'll return home for a one game stand against the Portland TrailBlazers on Friday.
Miami and the Suns had their last meeting in Arizona on November 17th last season. The 7-3 HEAT were visiting the 4-6 Phoenix squad, who were trying to avoid losing their third straight. Chris Bosh led the Dwyane Wade-less HEAT with 24 points on nine-of-11 shooting, along with nine rebounds, three helpers and two blocks. A sick LeBron James pitched in with 21 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Shane Battier hit four bombs. Markieff Morris led five Suns in double figures with 16 points, and Michael Beasley scored 14 with eight rebounds. * Full Recap * Box Score
Heat vs. Suns | Game Recap | NBA 2012-13 Season Nov 17, 2012 (via Jonathan Willms)
James spoke later about playing while under the weather:
I didn't have much energy, but I wanted to be out there with my guys.
For more on Phoenix, head on over to Bright Side Of The Sun.
Miami's last game would see the HEAT squeak by the Orlando Magic, 101-99 on Saturday. Dwyane Wade shrugged off a sluggish first half to finish with a game high 27 points on nine-of-16 shooting. LeBron James posted 22 points with nine rebounds, seven assists, and three steals, and Chris Bosh scored 15 with six boards and two rejections. Glen Davis led the Magic off the bench with a team high 20 points in his first appearance since January 30th of last season. * Full Recap * Box Score
Orlando Magic vs Miami Heat | November 23, 2013 | Full Game Highlights | NBA 2013-14 Season (via NBACalifornia)
LeBron James spoke about the winning shot later:
The play wasn't executed the best. They kind of read what we were going to do. I was able just to pop free.
Orlando Pinstriped Post has all your Magic updates.
The Suns also defeated the Magic in their last game action, last night, 104-96. Goran Dragic led Phoenix with 23 points on 10-of-17 shooting with 13 rebounds, Gerald Green put up 20 with eight boards, and Marcus Morris scored 16 off the bench with seven rebounds. Nikola Vucevic led the Magic with 20 points and 10 boards. * Full Recap * Box Score
Phoenix Suns vs Orlando Magic | November 24, 2013 | Full Game Highlights | NBA 2013-2014 Season (via NBAshowtimeHD6)
GameTime: 7:30 PM
Season Series: First of two meetings. Rematch in Phoenix February 11th.
All-Time Series: Phoenix holds the advantage, 31-18.
Current Line:
Team Standings
Miami HEAT: 10-3, .769, on pace for a 63-19 season. First in the Southeast Division, second in the Eastern Conference, fourth in the NBA. Last five: w w w w w. Playoff Odds: 99.3%
Phoenix Suns: 6-6, .500, on pace for a 41-41 season. Third in the Pacific Division, 10th in the Western Conference, tied for 14th in the NBA. Last five: l l l w x. Playoff Odds: 46.9%
Common Thread
Heat forward Michael Beasley spent last season with the Suns, scoring 10.1 points and grabbing 3.8 boards per game over 75 contests.
Today in HEATstory
Miami is 7-3 when playing on November 25th.
1989 - Bullets 107, HEAT 88
1992 - HEAT 110, Pacers 93
1994 - HEAT 111, Pistons 97
1995 - HEAT 111, Grizzlies 91
1997 - HEAT 103, Lakers 86
2000 - Rockets 91, HEAT 80
2003 - HEAT 91, Hornets 87
2005 - Mavericks 103, HEAT 90
2006 - HEAT 102, Bobcats 93
2009 - HEAT 99, Magic 98
Starting Lineups
HEAT
PG - Norris Cole
PF - LeBron James
C - Chris Bosh
SF - Shane Battier
SG - Dwyane Wade
Suns
PG - Eric Bledsoe
PF - Markieff Morris
C - Miles Plumlee
SF - PJ Tucker
SF - Goran Dragic
Team Leaders
HEAT
Points: LBJ - 25.3, DWade - 17.7, BOSH - 16.2
Rebounds: LBJ - 5.8, BOSH - 5.7, DWade - 4.5
Assists: LBJ - 6.8, DWade - 5.1, Rio - 4.9
Steals: Dwade - 2.3, Rio - 2.0, 'shard - 1.1
Blocks: BOSH - 1.4, Birdman - 0.9, Warden - 0.8
PER: LBJ (457 minutes) - 29.3, James Jones (40 minutes) - 28.4, B Eazy (117 minutes) - 23.6, BOSH (341 minutes) - 22.4, DWade (334 minutes) - 19.9
Suns
Points: Eric Bledsoe - 20.4, Goran Dragic - 15.7, Gerald Green - 14.8
Rebounds: Miles Plumlee - 9.0, Markieff & Marcus Morris - 5.7
Assists: Eric Bledsoe - 6.8, Goran Dragic - 5.7, Ishmael Smith - 2.3
Steals: Eric Bledsoe - 1.8, Markieff Morris - 1.5, PJ Tucker - 1.3
Blocks: Miles Plumlee - 2.1, Channing Frye - 0.8, Gerald Green - 0.6
PER: Eric Bledsoe (313 minutes) - 23.7, Markieff Morris (284 minutes) - 19.2, Goran Dragic (289 minutes) - 16.1, Gerald Green (335 minutes) - 15.8, Marcus Morris (273 minutes) - 15.6
Thanks for stopping by. For more on Phoenix, go to Bright Side of the Sun. Check back here at 6PM for the Game Thread.