It was a feeing of deja vu for Blazers fans. For the fourth time in a row, the Trail Blazers have beat the Miami Heat. Tuesday night the Blazers beat the Heat 15-96. That’s eight of the last 10 and Portland is now 18-5 at Miami – they like taking their talents to South Beach.
LaMarcus Aldridge scored 26 points (same total he had during the last outing against the Heat) and Brandon Roy added 14 more to give the heat their fifth loss in a row.
“It doesn’t look like anyone is having fun on the Miami Heat, “Magic Johnson said, after the game, on his Twitter account.
Nor should they, Portland entered the game averaging 8.19 steals per game – ranked fourth in the NBA – and finished with on par with eight. The Blazers also out-rebounded the Heat 34-31, and doubled ’em up on the offensive glass, 12-6.
What a difference two months can make.
LaMarcus Aldridge // Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
It was a different streak in the first meeting of the season. In the game, Miami made a late surge to force overtime and escaped with a 107-100 win at the Rose Garden. LeBron James scored 44 points, combining with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh for 96 of Miami’s 107 points. The win marked Miami’s 13th straight road victory, tied for the fourth-best road streak in NBA history.
Now after losing five games in a row, the Heat have turned Twitter into a place where the hashtag #LateTimeTheHeatWon is gaining popularity and Head Coach Erik Spoelstra is fighting off “Crygate” rumors about players crying the locker room following the loss to Orlando.
Spoelstra is also trying to get his team into a respectable playoff spot.
Meanwhile, in Portland, the newest addition, Gerald Wallace has found a new home. Wallace scored 22 in 34 minutes off the bench.
Portland’s Andre Miller moved into sole possession of 15th place on the NBA’s All-Time Assists leader board with 6,922. He passed Guy Rodgers.
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