PORTLAND, Ore. _ If only the Miami Heat played like this at home.
The Heat continued to play well away from Miami and held on for an impressive 118-108 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday at Moda Center. The win marked the start of the Heat's challenging five-game West Coast trip, with Friday's matchup against the Sacramento Kings up next.
Miami, which is 14-11 on the road compared to just 11-16 at AmericanAirlines Arena, is the only team in the NBA with a winning road record that also owns a losing overall record. The Heat struggles at home are to blame for that, as it just went 0-3 during its three-game homestand that preceded this trip.
But whatever is working for the Heat on the road continued working Tuesday in an arena the Trail Blazers entered with a 22-7 record in.
Miami put together an efficient offensive performance, finishing with 118 points on 54.2 percent shooting from the field while committing just 12 turnovers.
Even with those numbers, the win did not come easy for the Heat.
Despite entering the fourth quarter with a 15-point lead, the Blazers rallied to pull within one point with 5:15 to play. But Miami closed the game on a 14-5 run to put an end to Portland's comeback.
Center Hassan Whiteside was sharp all night, finishing with 28 points on 11-of-12 shooting and 11 rebounds. Guard Dwyane Wade contributed 22 points and nine rebounds off the bench.
Portland's talented backcourt duo of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum combined for 46 points. But Lillard was held to 5-of-15 shooting.
The Heat will now have a few days off before continuing its trip Friday in Sacramento, but Thursday's 3 p.m. trade deadline looms.
