Heat at Pistons
The Miami Heat had a couple of days to assess a blowout loss at the Milwaukee Bucks and brush it aside and will try to get back to the business of improving in the second half of the season when they continue the road trip by visiting the Detroit Pistons on Friday. The Heat were crushed 124-86 by the Bucks in the opener of the four-game trip.
Miami was outscored 69-45 in the first half on Tuesday and things did not get any better after the break, leading to some confusion for coach Erik Spoelstra. "It was just an onslaught, attacking us in transition, off the dribble, and that opened up the 3s," Spoelstra told reporters. "These are the games I can't wrap my mind around." The Pistons left their coach similarly flummoxed at times over the last month but come into Friday with some momentum after knocking off the Orlando Magic 120-115 in overtime in the opener of a three-game homestand. "There is nothing surprising," Detroit's first-year coach Dwane Casey told reporters. "I came into this with my eyes wide-open. This team hadn't been to the playoff in like four to five years, just because I walk in the door things are not going to change. I knew it was the same situation we were in in Toronto. ... it took time."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Sun (Miami), FS Detroit
ABOUT THE HEAT (21-21): Miami enters play on Thursday 25th in the NBA in scoring average at 106.2 points but continues to work shooting guard Dion Waiters back into the lineup slowly following ankle surgery. Waiters, who was limited to two points in 12 minutes in Tuesday's loss, is not happy about having his minutes restricted. "(Expletive) patience!" Waiters said, according to the Miami Herald. "I want to play. I've been patient long enough. What do I got to be patient for? Come on man. I've been patient. I think everybody knows that. It's time. What are we waiting for? If I'm out there, play me."
ABOUT THE PISTONS (19-24): Detroit went 1-3 on a four-game road trip and dropped 17 of 22 before surviving the Magic on Wednesday. "I thought we were sluggish, which is understandable coming off this West Coast swing," star forward Blake Griffin told reporters. "But we got some stops and executed. I think Dre (Andre Drummond) scored the first one in overtime, Reggie (Jackson) scored the second two, and then we just closed it out. But defensively, we were getting stops, forcing them into taking shots that we wanted, and we were rebounding well in overtime, so it was great." Griffin led the way with 30 points in the victory while Drummond collected 14 points and 22 rebounds.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Pistons C Zaza Pachulia (leg) returned from an eight-game absence on Wednesday and recorded six points, three rebounds and three assists in 15 minutes off the bench.
2. Heat PF Kelly Olynyk is 5-of-25 from 3-point range over the last five games.
3. Miami earned a 120-115 win at Detroit on Nov. 5 as Drummond collected 25 points and 24 rebounds.