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 The point guard, who made his NBA debut with the Suns in 2008 and
was acquired by the Miami Heat from Phoenix on Feb. 19, was
certainly at the forefront of much of what happened on Monday night.
He battled back spasms and foul trouble and had a steal that helped
spark the first of three ejections.
But it was Tyler Johnson, an undrafted rookie guard who made his NBA
debut on Jan. 15, who scored a game-high and season-high 26 points
in just 25 minutes, leading the Heat to a 115-98 win at
AmericanAirlines Arena.
"I like to stay ready," said Johnson, who played his college ball at
Fresno State. "That has been the story of my whole life. Whenever I
get an opportunity, I try to make the most of it."
Johnson, who made 10 of 13 shots, including three of three on
3-pointers, overcame what at first looked to be a serious injury to
his left ankle.
But Johnson kept playing.
"The good thing is that when you sprain your ankle so many times, it
hurts for a little bit, but then it goes away," said Johnson, who
also had four steals and was perfect on three free throws. "I will
be better by the next game."
Ejected were Suns forward Markieff Morris (13 points), Suns center
Alex Len (10 points, 11 rebounds) and Heat center Hassan Whiteside
(17 points, 10 rebounds). It was the first NBA game this season with
three ejections.
With 8:43 left in the third, Dragic stole a pass and drove for an
attempted layup. Morris prevented the basket but hit Dragic in the
head while trying for the block, causing Dragic to take a hard fall.
"It was a hard foul, but it was a basketball play," Morris said.
"The refs thought otherwise and kicked me out. (Dragic) was in the
air and jumped back. My momentum hit him hard. He did fall hard, but
it didn't look intentional like I tried to push him (under the
basket)."
Suns coach Jeff Hornacek agreed with Morris.
"Markieff challenged the shot," Hornacek said. "We all know how
Goran plays -- he throws that right arm out. The refs said (Morris)
hit him up in the neck, and that's what makes it automatic."
Dragic, who finished with 21 points in just 15 minutes, left the
game briefly but returned.
With 4:26 left in the third, Len and Whiteside tangled in the paint.
Len threw a shove, Whiteside went low for a tackle, and both were
ejected.
"You had two desperate teams feeling the weight of the season," Heat
coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We came in feeling this was a must-win,
and I'm sure they felt the same way.
"Our guys had that look in their eyes in shoot-around this morning.
There was no messing around."
The Heat (26-33) snapped a two-game losing streak. With the top
eight teams making the playoffs in each conference, Miami is in
seventh place, half a game ahead of the Nets. Ninth-place Indiana is
just one game behind the Heat.
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Miami, which improved to 11-17 at home, the seventh-worst home
record in the NBA, also got 16 points and a game-high nine assists
from shooting guard Dwyane Wade.
The Suns (31-30) got 20 points and a game-high 14 rebounds from
forward P.J. Tucker and 20 points from guard Eric Bledsoe.
Still, the Suns lost for the seventh time in nine games and are in
10th place, 2.5 games behind No. 8 Oklahoma City in the Western
Conference playoff race.
The Suns led 24-23 after the first quarter. The Heat got good news
in the quarter when backup center Chris "Birdman" Andersen, who
missed one game due to illness, returned to the lineup with 1:07
left.
Dragic was scoreless in the first quarter after picking up two quick
fouls and playing just three minutes.
The Heat, which never led in the first quarter, made a move in the
second. Miami led by as many as 18 points and settled for a 62-48
halftime advantage.
By halftime, Dragic had eight points in just seven minutes.
Miami led 85-74 after the wild third period that took 43 minutes to
play.
NOTES: Suns PG Brandon Knight, who played at Fort Lauderdale's Pine
Crest High School, started against the Heat despite a hip-pointer
injury. ... Suns F Danny Granger, acquired from Miami at the trade
deadline, is out due to a left knee injury. ... Heat F Chris Bosh,
who is out for the season because of blood clots, was released from
the hospital over the weekend. ... F Michael Beasley, who is back
for his third stint with the Heat after signing earlier this week,
averaged 25.2 points per 48 minutes last season, which ranked 44th
in the NBA ahead of stars such as Bosh and Golden State Warriors G
Klay Thompson. Because of poor defense and questions about his
attitude, Beasley couldn't find an NBA team to start this season and
was playing in China until recently. ... Miami plays host to the Los
Angeles Lakers on Wednesday. ... Phoenix plays the Magic in Orlando
on Wednesday.
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