The Miami Heat rolled into town a depleted squad with only 9 of their 15 players available. Still, they had their star guard Goran "The Dragon" Dragic, and kick-ass big man Hassan Whiteside, so our Blazers had their work cut out for them. The Blazers handled the job pretty well, all things considered, and came out with a feel-good win, 99-92.

CJ likes it
CJ likes it Courtesy Trail Blazers

The big knock on the Blazers this year has been weak defense. In particular, critics have noted that the Blazers can't seem to stop opposing teams from scoring close-in, in the paint. Miami's big man, Hassan Whiteside, looked to be a real problem on this night. He's just the kind of player the Blazers wish they had, an agile 7-footer with a sweet shooting touch and amazing shoot-blocking ability. In fact, the Blazers had pursued Whiteside hard this off-season. Shortly before the game started Whiteside told reporters that Portland had been his "second option" if contract negotiations with the Heat hadn't gone the way he wanted. Oh well.

Plumlee tries to get one over the Wall of Whiteside
Plumlee tries to get one over the Wall of Whiteside Courtesy Trail Blazers

Whiteside had himself a good game, with 28 points, 13 rebounds, and a game high 5 blocks, but his "second option" team was too much in the end. The Blazers actually played some respectable defense on this night. The Heat's 92 points was the lowest scoring total for a Blazer opponent all season.

The game started off poorly for the Blazers, with the Heat scoring at will throughout the first quarter. But things tightened up in the second quarter and the Blazers led by 6 at the half, 55-49. The big energy man for the Blazers turned out to be Moe Harkless, who constantly came through with good hustle plays when the rest of the team seemed to slow down. Will this be Moe's best season ever? I think so.

Go get em Moe!
Go get 'em Moe! Courtesy Trail Blazers

The Heat came back in the third quarter and both teams played things pretty even for a while. Miami forward James Johnson let his temper get the best of him and got booted from the game towards the end of the third quarter. That might not have mattered much on a normal night, but without Johnson the Heat were down to only 8 players and fatigue became a factor for them.

Johnson gets the boot!
Johnson gets the boot! Courtesy Trail Blazers

Here's a little NBA/Portland trivia for you: Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is from Portland and is part owner of that classy PDX restaurant 23Hoyt where apparently the entire Miami team ate dinner the night before the game. For a while it seemed like that fancy dinner might fuel a frustrating Heat win, because The Heat held a lead until late in the fourth quarter. In fact, they were up by 6 with just 3 minutes left in the game. Portland took a time-out and though and then went on an awesome 9-1 run capped off by a sweet CJ McCollum lay-up which floated over the outstretched arm of Hassan Whiteside. The Blazers went up by two points and the tired Heat squad couldn't stop the momentum from there. Harkless snagged a crucial rebound on the next possession and iced the win.

The Blazers came away with a much-needed victory before they head out on a long and tough road trip. They play the Bulls in Chicago on Monday, a team that beat them easily here in Portland not too long ago. A win over in the windy city would be a nice way to really shake off those early-season jitters and prove the doubters wrong. Let's do this!