Whiteside’s buzzer-beating tip-in lifts Heat past Pistons

There was no disrespect involved in the remark. He was playing with a bandage on his right hand (he injured it last week).

Whiteside’s ninth rebound Tuesday night my have been the biggest of his career as he tapped in a loose ball off Goran Dragic’s shot off the iron as the buzzer sounded lifting his Heat to a 97-96 victory over the desperate Detroit Pistons.

And now, Whiteside will call his left hand “the dirty left”. He was replaced in the starting lineup by Smith before missing the past two games.

Whiteside was the hero of the night with 17 points, including the game-winner. Goran Dragic somehow came down with the ball and got an ugly shot up, which missed a third time. “One of the things I think has sort of worn him down and worn us down – it is the year of Reggie”.

“I was like, ‘Whatever happens, I’m going to chase this rebound, ‘” said Whiteside, who grabbed nine rebounds and scored 17 points.

Charlotte entered in 11th place in the Eastern Conference but only two games behind Miami and in dire need of a win with only nine games remaining. “Just another tough loss for us”. He made a clutch jumper that felt like the dagger for the Pistons in this game, but would not be enough to win the game. “We’re mentally tough, have been in so many close battles like this. we didn’t put our heads down, we kept grinding”. And in a crucial game for both the eighth-seeded Miami Heat and 10th-seeded Detroit Pistons, the Heat found a way to win. And it played out that way. This represented a sharp increase from the past four games, where Dragic averaged just 2.75 free-throw attempts per game.

The loss was a devastating blow to Detroit’s postseason aspirations. “He did practice yesterday, and then we’ll see (how he feels) on Thursday”, Van Gundy said after Monday’s defeat to the Knicks, via ESPN. “We never quit. We said we needed to have this game and we did it”.

Miami played without shooting guard Dion Waiters for the fifth consecutive game.

“I only control what I can control”, Jackson said.

James Johnson added 16 off the bench including a poster dunk. The Pistons fought back, though, getting within 49-48 on Caldwell-Pope’s layup.

After a McGruder turnover, Smith drained a jumper for a 96-92 Detroit advantage. They had the ball but Stanley Johnson was called for a technical foul for delay of game.

“We would have won the game if I would have done a better job”, said Stan Van Gundy in his postgame press conference in reference to having Stanley Johnson in the game over Beno Udrih for the last few possessions.

Van Gundy explained the decision to sit Jackson, whom he estimated had been playing at around 80 percent on a knee that had plasma injections in October, but still hasn’t reached 100 percent.

Van Gundy took blame for the possession that resulted in Johnson being tied up. “Reggie wants to be out there”, he said. Miami is 28-3 when leading after three quarters.

Eight years. That’s how long it had been since the Miami Heat won a regular-season game with a buzzer beater. Snell finished 10 of 14 from the field and had four 3-pointers. “They really care about each other”.