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Heat’s Erik Spoelstra has passionate take on 60-point Blazers thrashing
Image credit: ClutchPoints

Heat’s Erik Spoelstra has passionate take on 60-point Blazers thrashing

Originally posted on ClutchPoints  |  By Zachary Weinberger  |  Last updated 3/29/24

Let’s just say it was never in doubt for the Miami Heat as they won by a whopping 60 points to beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 142-82, inside the Kaseya Center Friday night. Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra and star Terry Rozier spoke after the game to talk about the monstrous win as there are only nine games left in the regular season.

The 60-point margin of victory is the largest in the franchise’s history as previously it was 43 points in Dec. 29, 1994 against the Los Angeles Clippers. Spoelstra said that he hopes after that the huge victory, that the team starts “to build those habits” of winning every minute or possession.

“I mean, there’s a bunch of different ways you could approach this game but there was a professionalism from our part, and an energy and an intentionality. That’s really what we’re aiming for right now,” Spoelstra said. “That doesn’t guarantee you get the results you want, but you stack those kinds of minutes, possessions, quarters, games, and then you start to build those habits and hopefully that becomes more of who you are. But that was encouraging to see us be able to sustain that kind of energy and intentionality throughout the course of the game.”

Terry Rozier believes 60-point win boosts Heat’s morale

Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier (2) drives to the basket past Portland Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson (00) during the second quarter at Kaseya Center. Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

Heat star Terry Rozier was exceptional in the 27 minutes played as he scored 22 points, making six three-pointers, recording six assists, and collecting three rebounds. While he said that he has never been a part of a 60-point win maybe since middle school, Rozier feels that a big win like this “feels good for the group.”

“Maybe Middle School, but not at this level,” Rozier said when asked if he’s been part of a win like this. “I think it feels good for the whole group, and I think we all want to build off of this for the last nine games and make a strong push.”

“I mean, every game counts, every game matters,” Rozier continued. “So I think we want to win every game here on now. To win big like this, I think it feels good for the group, everybody feels good. “So going into the DC game, we can do the same thing. Hopefully. But you know, we got to take it one game at a time and we got to build off tonight, but it was it was huge for us.”

Rozier talks Heat’s exceptional execution of playing team basketball

More history was achieved in this game as the Heat set a franchise record for assists in a quarter (16 in the second period), half (24 in the first half), and for the entire game with 41. Miami was playing the definition of team ball as Rozier stressed after the game that after “struggling offensively” in the “last 20 games,” this a game that they hope to “build on moving forward.”

“We’ve kind of been struggling offensively these last couple games, last 20 games,” Rozier said. “We try to emphasize sharing the ball and obviously giving the ball to Jimmy and Bam and playing off of that. I think we did just that tonight. And like I said, it’s just a game that we can build on moving forward. And you know, keep putting things together.”

This was exactly the type of win Miami needed , especially coming after a frustrating loss to the Golden State Warriors the Tuesday prior. Now with nine games left of the season, the Heat are 40-33 which puts them seventh in the Eastern Conference as their next game is against another low-standing team in the Washington Wizards.

This article first appeared on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.

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