Hassan Whiteside puts up 10-block triple-double, but Wolves beat Heat
It takes a special performance to be the biggest story in a loss. What Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside did Tuesday against the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves certainly qualifies.
Whiteside blocked his 10th shot of the night with 2:04 remaining in the third quarter to log the second non-assist triple-double of his career, becoming the first player to have multiple such games since Marcus Camby. (Whiteside was already the only active player to have a non-assist triple-double.) The 26-year-old big man added 22 points (10-of-14 FG) and 14 boards to complete the feat.
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Take a look at his beastly play here:
Unfortunately for Whiteside and the Heat, his defensive presence was much less fearsome in the fourth quarter. The Wolves scored 41 points in the final period — four shy of their first-half output and more than double their third-quarter showing — to come away with a 103-91 victory. Minnesota has now won five of its six road games for all its victories so far this season.
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The Heat can largely blame themselves for the loss. Miami turned the ball over 22 times (including five in the first 3:05 of the fourth) and balanced reasonable shooting overall (45.6 percent from the field) with awful marks from beyond the arc (5-of-24) and the free-throw line (14-of-30, including 2-of-9 from Whiteside). The mistakes were plentiful and allowed Minnesota a chance to make up a seven-point disadvantage after three quarters.
This night did not showcase the young Wolves anywhere close to their best, but the result indicates the growth of this group. Their shooting touch abandoned them for large portions of the game (37.1 percent from the field and 4-of-21 from deep), but they were able to get to the line regularly (27-of-35) and got key bench performances on a night that saw Ricky Rubio (1-of-7 FG, three assists) struggle amid foul trouble. Zach Lavine (17 points and three assists in a bench scorer role) and Shabazz Muhammad (16 points on 6-of-8 FG) were especially impressive, although starters Andrew Wiggins (24 points) and Karl-Anthony Towns (14 points and 14 rebounds) will understandably get most of the attention.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
