Heat at Blazers final score: Miami, without Lebron James, stuns Portland, 108-107
By Brad Rowland
When it was announced that reigning NBA MVP Lebron James would miss Saturday night’s game with a groin injury, the consensus feeling was that the Miami Heat were in deep trouble in Portland against the red-hot Blazers. However, Chris Bosh and company would have none of it, and the Heat rose up for a surprising, 108-107 road win.
Bosh had an incredible night for Miami in the absence of LBJ, scoring 37 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, but he saved his best work for last. The big man knocked down the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer (with 2 Blazers flying at him) to cap his big-time night, and he did it without the benefit of a quality set-up from passer Dwyane Wade. Bosh’s night was a friendly reminder that the “3rd banana” in Miami was once a perennial 20-10 guy in Toronto, and the big lefty was enormous in this one.
On the Portland side, LaMarcus Aldridge (22 points) and Wesley Matthews (23 points) had big nights, but Portland’s defense betrayed them in a big way. They allowed Miami to shoot nearly 52% from the field and over 57% from 3-point range, and not even a 50+% shooting night in their own right could overcome Bosh and company’s offensive surge.
In fairness to Portland, Miami still has a lot of talent without LBJ on the court, but this is certainly a “bad” loss for the Blazers, especially given how well they’ve played recently. Lebron will be back in short order, and because of that, there isn’t too much to take away for the Heat, but this was a fun game, and Chris Bosh is very good at basketball.