Miami gets the spark it needs after dominating Portland

As far as pick-me-ups go, the Miami Heat’s dominant win on the road against the erstwhile undefeated Portland Trail Blazers was the shot in the arm last year’s Eastern Conference finalist needed to spark what’s been an uninspiring start to this NBA season.

Jolted by the strong play of key reserves Caleb Martin, Gabe Vincent, and Max Strus, the Heat ended the pattern of playing catch-up to Portland late in the first half then leaned on their heavyweight hitters to build a double-digit lead in the third quarter, which propelled them to their second win in five games, and first on the road.

For the first time since tipping off in that dastard home loss to Chicago for the opener, Miami finally…