The dominant Hassan Whiteside showed up against the 76ers
Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside put up a monster stat line in the team’s 10th win a row.
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It had been a while since we had seen one of those night’s from Hassan Whiteside. Amid battling a bum ankle and inconsistent play, Whiteside came into tonight’s game averaging 12.4 points over his last eight. That changed in a big way against the Philadelphia 76ers. Whiteside scored 30 points on 14-for-17 shooting, to go with 20 rebounds and 3 blocks. He was the driving force behind the Miami Heat’s 125-102 win.
Just how dominant was Miami’s center? For starters, he had a double-double after 10 minutes of action. His 17-point, 11-rebound first quarter gave the Heat an early 15-point lead that they never looked back from.
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Whiteside was simply too much for any of the Sixers big men to handle. They were without Joel Embiid as well as fellow center Jahlil Okafor, who are both nursing knee injuries. That left them with only Nerlens Noel and Richaun Holmes to play the bulk of their minutes at the 5. And neither of those guys could do much to bother Whiteside.
Take a look at an impressive 1st quarter for @YoungWhiteside!
Hassan's 17 points was the most in a quarter for any HEAT player this season pic.twitter.com/SJWZzYGGUL
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) February 5, 2017
Furthermore, what was most impressive about the performance was the fact that he did all of his damage in 26 minutes. According to the Heat, that efficiency was historic.
Over the last ten games, it’s been mostly the guards doing the bulk of the work. Both Dion Waiters and Goran Dragic have been spectacular. But now, if Whiteside can get things going down low as well? This season could legitimately get interesting.
Miami (21-30) must now travel to Minnesota to face the explosive Timberwolves. The game tips at 8 PM on Monday.
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