3 Heat takeaways from the monstrous 60-point win vs. Blazers

Going into this game, the Heat needed to come out and handle business against the Trail Blazers who haven’t been able to achieve 20 wins so far this season. Too many times have Miami been in close games with inferior teams, even losing to them like earlier in the season to the Washington Wizards and Memphis Grizzlies.

It wasn’t even close in the first half of Friday night’s game as Miami closed out the first 24 minutes up 74-40 as the 34-point lead is the highest scoring first half all season. The Heat played to their strengths on defense and found major success on the offensive side as they shot 62.2 percent from the field and made 10 of their 19 attempts from three-point range.

They also recorded 24 assists in the first half which is the most through the beginning 24 minutes in franchise history, showcasing their team effort Friday. Adebayo was sensational as he scored 18 points to go with six rebounds and five assists.

As for Portland, they shot 40 percent from the field, but only made one single shot from deep out of 15 attempts. The one bright side for them is big-man Deandre Ayton who led the Blazers with 16 points and five rebounds. One would think the second half will be more of the same, but the Heat have let go of huge leads before, though 34 points is most likely insurmountable.

Annihilation continues in second half, much-needed rest for Heat stars

The second half was more of the same, if not even worse for the Blazers as the Heat at one point almost led by 50 points in the third quarter. Head coach Chauncey Billups could not find anything within the Blazers to get them going on any type of run which made this game over before the final period.

There is no doubt that a win like this boosts the confidence and morale of the Heat, and one could argue the health as well with multiple stars getting rest. One star would be Jimmy Butler would made his return today from missing last game with an illness. He would have a quiet game with eight points, but his aggressiveness and play-making weren’t needed as the rest of Miami was clicking.

Same goes for Bam Adebayo who had an impressive line as he scored 21 points, collected 11 rebounds, and finished with nine assists, one away from a triple-double. Another player who got some more rest was Kevin Love who was made available Friday after missing the last 14 games with a right heel bruise. While his playing time would’ve been sparse to begin with as Erik Spoelstra said beforehand, there was no need to risk further injury with the score out of hand.

No more excuses for Miami

Now with nine games left in the season, there are no more excuses for the Heat as they are trying to get out of contention for the play-in tournament and capture a top six seed in the Eastern Conference. They got the job done against the Trail Blazers Friday, but the same mindset continues for their next game.

Miami takes a quick trip for one road game against the Washington Wizards, another team who has one of the worst records in the NBA with 14 wins. While it’s hard to ask for another game where the Heat should at one point lead by close to 50 points, the Wizards are a team they have to get past.

They also have to play their best basketball against some East rivals like the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers next week to not only get some quality wins, but improve their middling home record as it’s now 19-17 after Friday against the Blazers. Miami is now 40-33 on the season with nine games left as fans should prepare for another stress-inducing finish to the season.