Miami Heat Need More Than Dwyane Wade Resurgence to Keep Series Alive

MIAMI — With the opportunity to either create some needed separation or fall into a frightening hole, the Miami Heat came out Wednesday and played the game they wanted to play.

The jump shots that launched and misfired over the past two outings—both road losses to the Charlotte Hornets—were abandoned. In their place came hard-nosed half-court attacks, ferocious fast-break finishes and a certain brand of bully ball.

The Heat won every conceivable battle of aggressiveness: paint points (48-34), fast-break points (13-4), rebounds (50-41), free-throw makes (15-12) and attempts (19-15). And in true South Beach style, they evoked a vintage performance out of franchise face Dwyane Wade: 25 points on 57.9 percent shooting, a team-high four assists and five rebounds in 32-plus minutes.

All the typical Miami-must boxes were checked—except the result. Despite carrying a lead through most of the fourth quarter, the Heat ultimately fell, 90-88, to the Hornets, the only visiting team to win inside AmericanAirlines Arena since the beginning of March.

The Heat had their chances. Wade’s final bucket, a pull-up jumper with 2:27 remaining, gave the Heat an 88-85 edge. But Miami’s final four possessions failed to produce a single point. Charlotte sent extra help at Wade, daring someone else to win the game.

Wade twice looked to his teammates and was twice left hanging—first a deep three-point miss by rookie Josh Richardson, then a blocked Goran Dragic triple in the closing seconds.

“I tried to trust my teammates in those instances,” Wade said. “They had two on me. Instead of playing hero ball and throwing up a shot, I threw it back to the guys that were open. We didn’t get great shots out of it.”

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Truth be told, Miami didn’t get many great non-Wade looks all night. Take his makes and misses out of the equation, and the Heat shot just 37.1 percent from the field and 27.8 from distance.

The Hornets once again overpacked the paint, and the Heat once again failed to pull their defenders out to the perimeter. Echoing a theme that’s been heard throughout this series, Richardson claimed Miami was “getting the looks we’ve wanted.”

Unfortunately, those are also the looks Charlotte is willing to concede. The Heat …

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