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Dwyane Wade Archives December 2007
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Dwyane Wade Archives
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December 2007
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DWYANE WADE LOOKS TIRED AGAINST THE WASHINGTON WIZARDS
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December 30, 2007
- Dwyane Wade was weary, Shaquille O'Neal wasn't around, and the Miami Heat never stood much of a chance against the balanced Washington Wizards. Andray Blatche scored 18 points, the Wizards led by as many as 30, and
they beat the Heat 96-74 Saturday night, Miami's fourth loss in a row.
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A night after playing 51 1/2 minutes, Wade looked sluggish at times and finished with 12 points on 5-for-12 shooting, along with seven turnovers, in 27 minutes. He didn't play at all in the fourth quarter and ended his
streak of leading the team in scoring in each of the previous eight games.
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Before the game, Riley compared his star to a champion thoroughbred - one that's spent. "Today he's like Secretariat. He's, like, sore. And that you're going to have to deal with. So we've been rubbing him all day, brushing
him down,'' Riley said with a laugh. "He's going to be sore tonight. We've just got to get him loose, and we've got to be conscious of it. I think he's going to go through that for probably most of the year, until his body
just totally comes back.''
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O'Neal missed a second straight game with a hip problem, while another starter, point guard Jason Williams, sat out with left knee tendinitis. Neither traveled to Washington, nor did guards Chris Quinn (left ankle) or Smush
Parker, who hasn't played in a month after a confrontation with a female valet parking attendant. Plus, forward Dorell Wright played just under 13 minutes Saturday before departing with an ankle injury.
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All the absences put that much more pressure on Wade, who scored 48 points in Friday's overtime loss to Orlando. He looked exhausted Saturday, compiling six turnovers by halftime and putting up an airball late in the second quarter. - NBA.com
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DWYANE WADE MATCHES HIS CAREER-HIGH 48 POINTS WITHOUT WIN
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December 29, 2007
- Stan Van Gundy had seen this all before from Dwyane Wade. Jumpers that swish with the game on the line. Forcing turnovers. Setting up teammates for big shots. Van Gundy enjoyed it when he coached Wade and the Miami Heat.
He even enjoyed it again Friday night, albeit from the Orlando Magic's end of the court.
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Wade matched a career high with 48 points, 20 of them coming in the fourth quarter and all of them in regulation for Miami, which fell to 8-22. He was 16-for-21 from the floor, plus added 11 assists and seven rebounds.
Somehow, it wasn't enough. "It's a little demoralizing to play my most complete game yet and to really have a feeling that we were going to win this ballgame,'' Wade said. "To lose it in overtime, it hurts.''
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Van Gundy ordered the Magic to trap Wade constantly in overtime, and it worked. Wade didn't get a shot off in the extra 5 minutes. "You can tell Pat and Dwyane, right off the bat next game, we're trapping him the minute he
walks out of the locker room,'' Van Gundy said. He was laughing when he said that. The Heat found nothing worth laughing about.
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Orlando led 84-79 after Evans' three-point play with 9:52 left in regulation, a score set up by a turnover by Wade. So he went to work, as if to make up for the mistake. He scored eight straight points to stake Miami to an
87-84 lead and, after Lewis made a free throw following a technical against Haslem, Wade found Wright for a dunk that gave Miami a four-point lead. Cook then added a 3-pointer, putting Miami ahead 92-85 and capping a 13-1,
3 1/2-minute run. - NBA.com
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DWYANE WADE & HEAT CAN'T OVERCOME IGUODALA'S SEASON-HIGH
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December 26, 2007
- Dwyane Wade scored 20 of his 27 points in the second half and Ricky Davis added 21 for Miami, which dropped its second in a row on back-to-back nights. The Heat (8-21), who lost 96-82 at Cleveland on Wednesday, fell
to 4-12 on the road and remain mired in last place in the Southeast Division. Daequan Cook had 12.
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Andre Iguodala scored a season-high 28 points, Kyle Korver and Louis Williams added 13 apiece and the Philadelphia 76ers held off the pesky Miami Heat 96-85 on Wednesday night. Andre Miller had 12 points, 12 assists and
eight rebounds for the Sixers, who improved to 12-16 and defeated the Heat for the 13th time in the last 15 games in Philadelphia.
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Philadelphia led by 19 points early in the third quarter before the Heat began to chip away. Miami got within 74-64 when Wade went the length of the court and converted a layup with 0.2 seconds remaining. The Sixers
responded with a pair of 3-pointers by Iguodala and Korver to take a seemingly commanding 80-64 lead. Miami later went on a 13-2 run, with Wade scoring eight points, to cut the Sixers' advantage to 84-81 with 5:08 remaining.
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Philadelphia came right back with six straight points, two baskets by Samuel Dalembert and a dunk by Iguodala, for a 90-81 advantage. The Sixers sealed the victory when Williams drove around Wade and threw down a one-handed
dunk over Udonis Haslem for a 93-81 lead with 1:49 left. Even though Dalembert picked up two fouls in the first 1:27, the Sixers later built a 21-point advantage in the second quarter and cruised to a 55-38 lead at halftime.
The Sixers quickly jumped ahead thanks to hot shooting by Iguodala, who had 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, and steady play by Miller, who added 12 points and six assists. - NBA.com
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Dwyane Wade Finds Himself Without A Win On Christmas
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December 25, 2007
- LeBron James winced as he pressed the ice bag tightly against his swollen jaw. On Christmas, he felt lucky to still have his two front teeth. "I got elbowed by Shaq in the face, which is not a good thing,'' James
said. "Ever.'' James shook off the big man's blow to the head and scored 25 points, Drew Gooden had 18 and Cleveland's defense arrived in time for the holiday, sparking the struggling Cavaliers to a 96-82 win over
the Miami Heat on Tuesday.
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James, who left Quicken Loans Arena in disgust following an embarrassing loss to Golden State on Sunday, added 12 assists and outshined fellow superstar and good friend Dwyane Wade, who scored 22 points but didn't
make his first field goal of the second half until there was only 4:01 remaining. By then, the Cavaliers were already ahead by 12 points, and thanks to a defense that had gone AWOL for most of the season's first two
months, they rolled to just their fourth win in the last 14 games.
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"When we play defense we're a pretty good team,'' James said. "When we don't, we don't look so well - simple as that. Today was a good step.'' Daniel Gibson scored 16 points, including six on consecutive 3-pointers to
open the fourth. Anderson Varejao scored 15 and Zydrunas Ilgauskas 13 for Cleveland, which had one of its most balanced games this season - and its most lopsided win.
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Wade finished 7-of-18 from the floor and 8-of-16 from the free-throw line for Miami (8-20), which began the season as one of the Eastern Conference's favorites but is headed in the wrong direction. Wade refused to blame
a sore right shoulder for his shooting woes. "I was just missing shots,'' he said. "It wasn't their defense, it was nothing they did special.'' Two years removed from an NBA championship, coach Pat Riley's team doesn't
look like one ready for a title run. - NBA.com
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Dwyane Wade Becomes Hero For Miami After Buzzer Beater
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December 23, 2007
- Dwyane Wade was in the moment, even as his mind drifted back three years. "Same spot,'' Wade said. "Same shot.'' Same result. Wade's 20-footer bounced off the rim and through the basket at the buzzer Saturday night, giving
the Miami Heat a 104-102 win over the Utah Jazz. The Heat wasted a 16-point second-half lead and trailed in the final minute, before Wade - who also hit a buzzer-beating winner against the Jazz in Miami on Nov. 19, 2004 - came
through with the top highlight of Miami's thus-dismal season.
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"I was just trying to be aggressive and got a shot,'' said Wade, who finished with 20 points. "It's big. It's big because we'd lost four of our last five games. This is a very good team and this shows the toughness of the team. We
can build from here.''
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Deron Williams did his best to keep Utah close, going 6-for-8 from the floor in the half and scoring 13 points to go with five assists. He also hurt Miami, albeit inadvertently, with his defense. Wade was shaken up with 30.1 seconds
left in the half after being called for charging into the Jazz point guard. He stayed in the game, but walked into the locker room at halftime holding his right shoulder and was clearly bothered at times in the second half.
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At the end, though, Wade was just fine - and afterward, Riley was so thrilled, the dapper-dressed coach unbuttoned his shirt to show an inside-out Converse T-shirt bearing Wade's "From Robbins, Illinois'' motto. "I'm not into winning
anymore and I'm not into losing,'' Riley said. "I'm into fighting. I think we have to live for the fight.'' - NBA.com
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Dwyane Wade Loses Again In Overtime This Time To The Nets
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December 21, 2007
- Something about close games has brought out the best in the New Jersey Nets this season, and they proved it again at the expense of the reeling Miami Heat. Dwyane Wade had his second season-high scoring effort in two nights
for Miami -- and saw both wasted in overtime losses. He scored 41 points on 15-for-23 shooting Thursday, one night after scoring 37 points in defeat at Atlanta, and couldn't keep the Heat from falling to 3-9 at home.
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At 7-19, Miami is 12 games under .500 for the first time since the end of the 2002-03 season -- Wade's final college season. "You've got to keep believing,'' Wade said. "You've got to keep playing until you can't play any more.
I hope everyone continues to believe. I know I do.''
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Down by seven with 4:52 left in the fourth, the Nets nearly found a way to win in regulation. Carter's 3-pointer with 10 seconds left put New Jersey up 94-92, but Haslem controlled a low pass from Wade and hit a 19-footer over Kidd
as time expired, sending Miami into overtime for the second straight night. Wade started the extra period with a steal and dunk, but that would be Miami's only lead of overtime. Allen and Boone scored consecutive baskets midway through
the period to put the Nets up by four, and they stayed ahead the rest of the way.
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Midway through the third quarter, Miami had another injury scare when Wade fell over O'Neal and grabbed his right knee. Wade got up, limping a bit, then proved to all concerned parties that he was just fine. Wade cut through the lane for
a three-point play, then added a jumper over Jefferson on Miami's next possession. He finished with 17 points in the third, giving him 31 for the game, and the Heat took a 70-66 lead into the fourth. - NBA.com
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Dwyane Wade Loses To The Atlanta Hawks In Overtime
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December 20, 2007
- On a night Miami lost its veteran leader, Atlanta again found new leadership from an unlikely veteran. Anthony Johnson, pressed into starting duty by injuries to three other point guards, put up big numbers for the second
straight game and the Hawks outlasted the Heat 117-111 in overtime on Wednesday night. The Heat lost center Alonzo Mourning to torn patellar tendon in his right knee in the first quarter. He already has said he will not play
next year, so the injury could end his career. A typical recovery period for the injury is three months.
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"I think we should really wait on that,'' said Miami coach Pat Riley when asked about Mourning's chances for playing again this season. "But it's not good.'' Johnson had a season-high 21 points and 9 assists, one game after
he had 17 points and 14 assists in a win over Utah. "A.J. has been phenomenal,'' said Hawks coach Mike Woodson. "He's running our ballclub, getting the ball where it has to go. He's defending for us and he's scoring. He's doing
everything a point guard is supposed to do. It's beautiful to see, because I think guys are really starting to latch on around him, and they're playing right along with him.''
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The Hawks were without point guards Speedy Claxton, who has not played this season, and Tyronn Lue due to injuries. Rookie point guard Acie Law played only nine minutes in his return from an ankle injury. Marvin Williams matched
his career high with 26 points and had 10 rebounds. Joe Johnson also had 26 points with 9 assists for Atlanta (13-12), which has a winning record at the latest point since 1998-99, its last playoff season. Miami, meanwhile, fell
11 games under .500 despite a season-high 36 points and 10 assists by Dwyane Wade, who made 20 of 22 free throws.
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"Plain and simple, we couldn't get any stops,'' Miami coach Pat Riley said of the overtime, in which Atlanta outscored the Heat 13-7. Joe Johnson gave Atlanta the lead for good with a three-point play with 1:05 left in overtime. The
Heat have lost 8 of 11. Wade's three-point play gave Miami a 111-108 lead in overtime. Johnson answered with a free throw and the three-point play. Miami scored six straight points to cut the lead to 99-98, and a jumper by Wade tied
the game at 100-all with 2:37 left. With the game tied at 102, Wade blocked a shot by Horford with 1:17 left, and a jam by Haslem gave Miami a 104-102 lead. Joe Johnson tied the game at 104 with a short jumper. The teams traded turnovers
before Ricky Davis missed a shot from the corner at the end of regulation. - NBA.com
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Dwyane Wade Wins Against The Worst Team In The League
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December 18, 2007
- With time running out in a close game, Dwyane Wade was struggling and Shaquille O'Neal had fouled out. So the Miami Heat turned to another duo - Udonis Haslem and Alonzo Mourning. Haslem hit consecutive jumpers
to give the Heat some breathing room, and Mourning came up with three crucial rebounds and a clutch tip-in in the final minute as the Heat edged the Minnesota Timberwolves 91-87 Monday night.
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"Everybody kind of stepped up," Mourning said. They had to for Miami to avoid another embarrassing home loss. Wade survived a horrendous shooting night - 6-for-22, including 10 straight misses in one stretch - to score
30 points, Haslem added 18 points and 16 rebounds, and O'Neal scored 15 points for Miami (7-17), which won for only the third time in 11 home games. Mourning finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks in 18 minutes.
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Al Jefferson had 22 points and 20 rebounds for Minnesota, his 17th double-double of the season and second career 20-20 game. Sebastian Telfair finished with 17 points and a pair of reserves - Rashad McCants (19) and Craig Smith
(11) - helped Minnesota outscore Miami's bench 44-21. "The turning point was that we didn't get the whistle that they got," Minnesota coach Randy Wittman said.
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Miami got to the foul line 42 times compared to Minnesota's 23. Wade was 18-for-20 alone from the stripe, including a perfect 14-for-14 after halftime and 8-for-8 in the final quarter. "That means he hit two jumpers, maybe? Our game
is to make him hit jumpers all game," McCants said. "He was at the free-throw line. That kind of messes us up a little bit." Despite the foul-line discrepancy, Minnesota (3-20) still had chances. - Canadian Press
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Dwyane Wade And Company Lose It In The Fourth
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December 17, 2007
- Dwyane Wade finished with 24 points, but his potentially game-tying 3-pointer bounced off the rim as time expired. "Everybody needs to figure out a way they can help with this, doing something 1 percent
better,'' Wade said. "If everybody does something 1 percent better, we'll be a better team.'' Udonis Haslem also scored 24 for Miami, which fell to 2-8 at home and 6-17 overall - the fourth-worst record
through 23 games in franchise history.
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"I keep repeating myself: We don't play defense,'' Haslem said. "That's our problem.'' Asked if even a coach like Riley can say anything to turn this around, Haslem quickly said: "Nope.'' "He can't save us,''
Haslem said. "The only person that can save us is us. He's been around a long time, he can tell all the stories he wants. But as a team, we've got to do what we've got to do. Coach is doing his best. As a team,
we've got to step it up.''
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Jamaal Tinsley scored 26 points, Jermaine O'Neal started a crucial fourth-quarter run with three straight baskets and the Pacers extended their dominance of Miami with a 106-103 win Saturday night. "It showed some
character for our team to go what we went through and still get the win in a tough environment,'' Jermaine O'Neal said.
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Well, ordinarily a tough environment: Miami's latest debacle dropped it to 6-17 overall, 2-8 at home. "There's a lot of pain,'' a somber Riley said. "It's very painful. Sometimes you wonder. I'm not trying to get on a
philosophical bent here, but when you're given everything that you've ever wanted in your profession, you wonder why that you feel such pain. You say why, why give me all this and make me feel pain?'' - NBA.com
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Dwyane Wade And The Heat Can't Seem To Find A Rhythm
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December 16, 2007
- Dwyane Wade added 17 points, and Ricky Davis had 16 for Miami (6-16). Shaquille O'Neal finished with only seven points on 3-for-6 shooting in 26 minutes. "There's no excuses,'' Riley said.
"There are none. I have none. The players should have none. ... Tonight, we didn't hardly even try.''
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Miami got within seven three times -- on scores by Haslem every time -- in the first 5 1/2 minutes of the final quarter, only to see Washington answer before the margin got any smaller. And eventually,
the Wizards put Miami away. Stevenson, who entered with 28 points on 32 percent shooting in his last four games, delivered the dagger with 4:41 left -- a long 3-pointer, his sixth of the night, that made
it 96-84.
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"I get so pumped up when everyone is playing well and making shots,'' Stevenson said. "It's a great feeling. We've just got to have that chip on our shoulder.'' Washington led for all but 38 seconds of the
opening half, taking a 59-49 lead into the break after Stevenson hit five of his first six shots, including a 4-for-5 early show from 3-point range, for 18 points.
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"We let a couple slip away here the last couple years but we stayed with it, we stayed confident, our defense was excellent when it needed to be,'' Jamison said. "When they made some runs we stayed poised.
That's the sign of a team going in the right direction.'' And in Miami's case, the opposite seems to be ringing true. "This is definitely a step back,'' Quinn said. - NBA.com
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Dwyane Wade Scorches The Suns & Leaves Bell With A Burn
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December 12, 2007
- The Phoenix Suns wanted to make sure Dwyane Wade didn't beat them with his trademark driving, slashing game. He and the rest of the Miami Heat did it by making one jumper after
another, instead. Wade scored 10 of his 31 points in the final four minutes and the Heat ended their longest road trip of the season with a 117-113 victory over the Suns on Monday night.
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"I'm getting a lot more comfortable with my game, especially with my pull-up jumper,'' said Wade, who scored 16 in Miami's 40-point first quarter. "I wanted to come out and be real aggressive
and put some pressure on them.'' Raja Bell had the assignment of guarding Wade, and said the Suns' poor defensive showing started with him.
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"You'd like to keep him out of the paint,'' Bell said. "His game is mostly driving and finishing and free throws. I tried to do that, but I guess I gave him a little too much space and those jumpers
were easy looks for him.'' Miami, in its sixth game away from home in nine days, had double-digit leads in all four quarters to beat the Suns for the first time in three seasons. "It's the best win for
us this year, obviously,'' Heat coach Pat Riley said. "We need them. Sometimes in April or March you'll look back and say there might have been a breakthrough game, a confidence game for you when you
have to get through a lot of stuff.''
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Udonis Haslem added 21 points, Shaquille O'Neal had 18 and Dorell Wright 16 as the Heat put six players in double figures and shot 59 percent to win consecutive games for the first time this season.
"We'll have to be a better defensive team when we play better teams, or they'll run right over us,'' Bell said. - NBA.com
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Dwyane Wade Gets 1200th Win For Riley Scoring 35 Points
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December 9, 2007
- Pat Riley felt a whole lot better after his 1,200th regular-season victory as an NBA coach than he did Sunday morning when he brought the Miami Heat into Staples Center with a
five-game losing streak. Dwyane Wade helped improve his coach's disposition considerably, getting 35 points and 10 assists in a 100-94 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
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"Two nights ago when I got here from Golden State,'' Riley said, "I was feeling a little bit low. OK? My wife's in town, and I went to the 19th floor of the Four Seasons Hotel at
about 1:30 in the morning. I was out on the balcony looking down at Wilshire Boulevard, and she said: `Honey, don't do it. It's not worth it.' ... The value of an NBA wife.''
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After a talk with his coach, Brandon Roy believed he had straightened out his mental approach. After his second straight strong performance, he
feels like he's straightened out his game, too. Roy scored 25 points, Travis Outlaw had 20 and the Portland Trail Blazers beat Miami 112-106 Thursday
night, handing the Heat their fourth straight loss.
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Riley is the third NBA coach to win 1,200 games, and he reached it in his 1,842nd game. That's 248 faster than Don Nelson, the next fastest. Riley, in his 24th season as a coach,
guided the Lakers to four NBA titles before winning another with the Heat two seasons ago.
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"It's those kind of moments that you'll always remember, good and bad,'' said Riley, coach of the years with three organizations. "The first 600 (533) were here in Los Angeles -
a lot of great players, guys. You know all of them. Dwyane thinks I'm extinct, but that's OK. That's what he said to me in there.'' - NBA.com
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Dwyane Wade Isn't Golden Against Davis & Golden State
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December 8, 2007
- Dwyane Wade scored a season-high 33 points and 10 assists but also committed seven turnovers. Ricky Davis had 20 and Dorell Wright added 19 points and 17 rebounds for Miami.
Wade is starting to regain his form after missing the first seven games of the season while recovering from offseason knee and shoulder surgeries. Scoring on fadeaways, drives
and his ability to get to the line, Wade had his best offensive game of the season and has now topped 20 points in three straight games for the first time.
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But it has been little help for the Heat, who fell to 4-15 with their latest loss. "It's a matter of finishing,'' Wade said. "Golden State is a team that is really playing well
but we should have found a way to win this game.'' Davis scored 13 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter and played tough defense on Dwyane Wade that helped the Warriors wear
down the tired Miami Heat and rally from 18 points down to win for the 11th time in 13 games, 120-113 Friday night.
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Coach Don Nelson put Davis on Wade for much of the fourth quarter and the move paid dividends on both ends of the court. Davis forced Wade into missing both shots he took and
committing two turnovers in the final 6 minutes, and made the key baskets to fuel Golden State's comeback.
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"I thought it would help that he had to guard and had to step his game up on both ends of the floor,'' Nelson said. 'I thought it helped his offensive game because he was not
very good. He wasn't a good player in the first half. He wasn't alone. There were three or four guys that didn't play very well in the first half.'' But the Warriors erased all
that with a well-played fourth quarter against a Miami team that wore down on the back end of back-to-back games and lost point guard Jason Williams to a sprained right ankle in
the first half. - NBA.com
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Dwyane Wade And Miami's Trail To Does Not Lead To Victory
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December 6, 2007
- Dwyane Wade had 21 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for the Heat, but he shot 9-for-26 from the field. Rookie Daequan Cook scored a
season-high 20 points and Ricky Davis added 18. Wade has given the Heat a lift since returning from injury, averaging 20 points, 5.4 assists,
3.5 rebounds and 2.3 steals entering the game, but Miami is just 3-10 with him in the lineup.
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Shaquille O'Neal had just eight points and 10 rebounds in 22 foul-plagued minutes for Miami. The Heat, who dropped to 3-15 on the season, shot
just 54.2 percent from the line. Portland led by 16 in the second half but saw its lead dwindle to one in the fourth as Cook, who was 9-of-11
from the field, Wade and Davis warmed up in the second half. However, the Blazers outscored Miami 24-19 down the stretch.
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After a talk with his coach, Brandon Roy believed he had straightened out his mental approach. After his second straight strong performance, he
feels like he's straightened out his game, too. Roy scored 25 points, Travis Outlaw had 20 and the Portland Trail Blazers beat Miami 112-106 Thursday
night, handing the Heat their fourth straight loss.
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Roy, who had 26 points against Memphis on Monday, picked up the Blazers in the second half as they appeared to be waning. He kept driving to the hoop,
drawing fouls and hitting 11-of-13 free throws. Less than a week ago, Roy was in a 12-of-53 shooting slump, and what he called the "lowest point of the
season.'' A visit with coach Nate McMillan changed his mind-set. "He said quit thinking so much, he said go out there and be aggressive,'' Roy said. "That's
what I did tonight.''
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Dwyane Wade And His Team High of 26 Points Was Not Enough
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December 4, 2007
- Dwyane Wade led Miami with 26 points and 10 assists but missed a crucial shot during Utah's final run and went just 6-of-12 from the
free throw line. "I think Dwyane has a little bit of fatigue,'' Miami coach Pat Riley said. "He's normally an 82-83 percent (free throw
shooter) and in big fourth quarters, he'll make eight or 10 in a row. He's just off a little bit.''
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Jason Williams and Davis both scored 15 points for the Heat, who have lost four of their last five games. "They played physical, good,
hard-nosed, get-to-the-basket basketball. There were a couple times where they beat us on simple cuts to the hoop,'' said O'Neal, who scored
12 points in 22 foul-hampered minutes. Alonzo Mourning tied his season-high with 13 points for Miami and Daequan Cook had 11.
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Utah won its last game, 120-96 over the Los Angeles Lakers, without Boozer, who nursed a sprained right ankle, and Okur. But the Jazz needed
their two big men against the Heat, who shot 53 percent from the field and outscored the Jazz 54-48 in the paint. "They're a team that has been
struggling but they came at us real hard tonight,'' Deron Williams said.
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The Heat were hurt by their ineptitude at the free throw line where they went 16-of-31. The win snapped a seven-game Jazz losing streak against
Miami. Utah last defeated the Heat, 97-85, on Jan. 15, 2004. "This team brings out the best in you,'' Wade said about the Jazz. "I thought we
played a great game but they just made more plays when it counted to win the ballgame.'' For the third straight time, Riley was denied his 1,200th
win. It may not get any easier as the Heat have four more games on their six-game Western Conference road trip. - NBA.com
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Dwyane Wade And Heat Fall Fast And Hard To The Nuggets
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December 2, 2007
- The Denver Nuggets made quick work of the slumping Miami Heat. Carmelo Anthony scored 30 points, and Kenyon Martin added
a season-high 20 to help the Nuggets rout the Heat 115-89 on Sunday night. Marcus Camby had 21 rebounds, his fifth 20-rebound
game of the season. Dwyane Wade had 13 points for Miami, and Ricky Davis and Daequan Cook had 11 each. Miami has lost three
of its last four and is 4-12 overall.
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"We've got to get it together,'' said Shaquille O'Neal, who scored a season-low six points. "Tonight was a plain-old butt-whipping.''
Miami has been in this position before. The Heat started 4-8 last season and won the Southeast Division. In 2003-04, Miami started
4-12, rallied to finish 42-40 and reached the Eastern Conference semifinals. "We were five, six games under .500 and then won seven
of eight or eight of nine games,'' Heat coach Pat Riley said of last season. "It is important that we play these games more competitively
and keep things even before you try to win seven games in one night. You can't do that. It's got to come back slowly.''
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Denver never gave the Heat a chance Sunday. The Nuggets used their running game to jump out to a 12-3 in the first 2:24 and never let up. Anthony had 12 points
in the first quarter and Denver built a 37-17 advantage after the first 12 minutes. "That's the way we want to play, especially at home,'' Martin said. "We want
to use the altitude to our advantage.'' Wade and O'Neal were saddled with early foul trouble. O'Neal picked up two fouls in the first 5:33, and Wade was whistled
for two quick ones late in the first and sat the entire second quarter with three fouls.
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When O'Neal was in the game, things didn't go well for the 7-footer. Midway through the second quarter, he missed a dunk and the follow, and Martin hit a jumper in the
lane to give Denver a 53-30 lead. The Heat went on a 12-2 run to cut the deficit to 59-42 at the half. Miami got to 61-49 early in the third quarter, but the Nuggets
followed with a 12-2 run of their own to push the lead back to 20 with 7:22 left in the period. The Nuggets poured it on, and they closed the quarter with Iverson hitting
a 33-foot buzzer-beater to make it 92-64. "We are in a funk,'' Wade said. "Everything goes wrong when you're where we are.'' - NBA.com
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