San Antonio Spurs vs Miami Heat Match Player Stats On Oct 25, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Oct 25, 2017

MIAMI -- LaMarcus Aldridge scored 31 points to lead the unbeaten San Antonio Spurs past the Miami Heat 117-100 on Wednesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.

The Spurs (4-0) also received strong bench play from Rudy Gay (season-high 22 points) and Manu Ginobili (14 points).

In addition, Spurs rookie guard Brandon Paul, who went undrafted in 2013, scored the first points of his NBA career. After playing pro ball the past four years primarily in Russia, Turkey and Spain, Paul made the Spurs and had seven points Wednesday.

Miami's Tyler Johnson scored a team-high 23 points off the bench, but the Heat (2-2) had their two-game win streak snapped. James Johnson added 21 points.

The Heat's starting backcourt -- Goran Dragic and Dion Waiters -- played despite injuries. Dragic (bruised thigh) had 20 points. Waiters (sore left ankle) finished with 17. Dragic went 5-for-5 with 10 points in the first quarter but couldn't maintain that pace.

Rookie center Bam Adebayo, Miami's 2017 first-round pick, made his first NBA start and finished with four points, eight rebounds and one block in 20 minutes.

Miami closed the first quarter on a 13-4 run, tying the score at 30. Aldridge was dominant with 13 points. Both teams shot well, with San Antonio (59.1 percent) earning an 18-8 edge in paint points. Miami shot 57.1 percent and had two more 3-pointers than the Spurs.

The Heat cooled off in the second quarter, and the Spurs took a 56-51 lead into halftime. Aldridge had 19 points at the break, and Waiters had 16 for Miami. The Spurs shot 56 percent in the first half, but Miami shot only 48 percent.

San Antonio used a 13-2 run to take an 88-73 lead after three quarters. Ginobili came off the bench to score eight points in the third quarter.

Aldridge had 25 points at third quarter's end, and the Spurs cruised from there.

The Spurs wound up outshooting the Heat 55.3 percent to 46.3 percent.

NOTES: The Spurs were without SF Kawhi Leonard (quadriceps), PG Tony Parker (quadriceps) and PF Joffrey Lauvergne (right ankle). Leonard has finished in the top three in MVP voting the past two years, and Parker is a six-time All-Star. ... Heat C Hassan Whiteside (left knee bruise) missed his third consecutive game. ... The Spurs and Heat have history together, splitting NBA titles in two classic Finals matchups. Miami beat San Antonio in seven games in 2013, and San Antonio defeated Miami in five games in 2014. ... The Spurs visit the Orlando Magic on Friday. ... The Heat host the Boston Celtics on Saturday.