mia-heat

NBA Playoffs

mia-heat - 21 de abril de 2006 - 19:56

Last season, the Heat took Detroit to seven games of the East finals. But in the end, even the series finale on their home court, Miami’s inability to stay healthy was what may have cost them a Finals appearance.

Heat center Shaquille O’Neal never was at full strength because of a lingering thigh injury that left him less than dominant throughout the playoffs. Teammate Dwyane Wade missed all of a Game 6 loss because of a rib injury suffered in Game 5, and the Heat could only manage 66 points without their leading scorer. Though Wade returned for Game 7, he lacked much of his typical explosiveness and played through significant pain, according to his teammates’ post-game comments. In a Game 7 that was decided by six points, a healthy Wade may have been the difference in the contest.

That hasn’t been lost on Miami, which rested their pair of superstars at the conclusion of the regular season this year in anticipation of staying healthy during the playoffs. In the Heat’s final two contests of the season, Wade and O’Neal each rested. While Wade remained largely injury-free this season, there’s reason to be concerned about O’Neal’s health, who has missed 23 games this season.

Miami will need to make quick work of their opponents in the early rounds so as to not tire their stars for gritty conference finals with a team such as NBA Detroit.

Should the first or second round drag out, O’Neal’s aging body may not be able to sustain itself over the long haul; the 7-1, 300-pound plus O’Neal takes night-in and night-out poundings from opponents.

To prevent a repeat of last year, the Heat re-signed center Alonzo Mourning as an insurance policy for O’Neal last off-season. Mourning proved to be an admirable backup in 20 starts in place of his teammate during the regular season, averaging 11.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.8 blocks per game and has given Miami some extra odds in all Sportsbooks. But given his health issues -- Mourning suffered a torn right calf against the Pistons March 22 and hasn’t played since -- the 36-year-old can’t necessarily be depended upon for the playoffs.

Mourning or not, this team came close to turning away Detroit last year when luck wasn’t on their side. A little bit of help from the basketball gods and it could be the Pistons making the adjustments.

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Bulls will feel the Heat in NBA playoffs

mia-heat - 20 de abril de 2006 - 23:52

There wasn't much motivation for the Miami Heat last weekend, when the Chicago Bulls came to town. The Heat will certainly be considerably more excited for the Bulls' next visit to South Florida.

Chicago beat Toronto 127-106 on Wednesday night to secure the No. 7 spot in the Eastern Conference Championship playoffs, meaning the Bulls will play second-seeded Miami in the opening round.

Game 1 is Saturday in Miami, with Game 2 of the best-of-seven series expected to be played either Monday or Tuesday.

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NBA: O'Neal's 27 leads Heat over Wiz

mia-heat - 10 de abril de 2006 - 21:15

Shaquille O’Neal had 27 points and 10 rebounds, Derek Anderson compensated for Dwyane Wade’s foul trouble with five 3-pointers, and the Miami Heat beat the Washington Wizards, 99-86, last night.

The Heat trailed by 12 in the first quarter, but from then on there was no stopping O’Neal and Anderson, who were a lethal inside-outside combination in place of the usual O’Neal-Wade. O’Neal went 13-for-16 from the field, and Anderson had 20 points, four assists and two steals in his best game since he was acquired in a trade with Houston in February.

Gary Payton added 13 points, and Udonis Haslem had 13 points and 14 rebounds for the Heat, whose domination of the Wizards includes 12 straight regular-season games and a four-game sweep in the second round of last year’s playoffs.

Gilbert Arenas scored 30 points, and Antonio Daniels had a season-high 25 for the Wizards.

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NBA Roundup: Carter fuels Nets win

mia-heat - 03 de abril de 2006 - 19:47

HEAT at NETS: Vince Carter scored 43 points to outduel Dwyane Wade and New Jersey beat Miami 90-78 for the Nets' 12th straight win.

A day after scoring a NBA's season-high 44 against Cleveland but losing to the Cavs and LeBron James's 47, Wade scored 32 points to lead Miami (48-25), which had won three of its last four games.

Carter had 33 points in the second half and helped New Jersey (44-28) pull away from the Heat after Miami scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter to cut a 16-point deficit to five.

Miami trailed 74-58 to start the fourth quarter, but immediately lopped 11 points off the lead and trailed just 74-69 when Gary Payton basketball player made two free throws with 9:15 left.

From that point, New Jersey went on a 13-4 run, with Carter providing the final five points.

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Heat-Bobcats

mia-heat - 07 de marzo de 2006 - 23:24

The Miami Heat gave Shaquille O'Neal the only birthday gift he wanted: the ball when the game was on the line.

O'Neal marked his 34th birthday with 35 points and accounted for all of Miami's scoring in overtime, leading the Heat over the Charlotte Bobcats 106-105 on Monday night.

``In overtime, I told the guys, `Just bring it to me,''' O'Neal said. ``We were messing around the whole game, so I just told the guys to keep coming to me. And they did.''

O'Neal also had 12 rebounds to help the Heat to a season-high ninth consecutive victory. Although he missed several opportunities to put Miami on top in regulation - he went 2-for-7 at the free throw line in the fourth quarter - he made amends in the extra period.

He scored on all four of his attempts - three were dunks - and had three rebounds to finally put the Bobcats away and close out his birthday with a victory. Asked how he planned to celebrate, O'Neal said he had a low-key evening ahead of him.

``I'm going to just go home, be thankful for my beautiful wife and gorgeous kids, where I live, my job,'' he said. ``Actually, every day is my birthday.''

Miami played without leading scorer Dwyane Wade, who sat out with a sprained right wrist. The Heat missed him early, when O'Neal got off to a slow start and the Bobcats built an early 15-point lead.

But Miami was able to hang around and made a run at Charlotte in the fourth quarter.

Jason Williams made three 3s in the final period, including one with 45 seconds to play to tie it at 98. But both teams missed opportunities to win it in regulation. Antoine Walker missed a jumper for Miami, and Primoz Brezec twice missed for Charlotte, including a shot at the final buzzer that didn't even hit the rim.

It was a sign of things to come for Brezec, who was dominated by O'Neal in overtime. O'Neal schooled Brezec on three consecutive baskets, and his dunk with 1:20 to play tied it at 104 and sent Brezec to the bench for good.

Brezec angrily tossed an elbow pad at the chairs as he stomped to his seat.

``No. 7 (Brezec) lost that game tonight, and I take the blame for that,'' Brezec said.

O'Neal, who scored eight points in overtime, added a layup with 42 seconds left that gave Miami a 106-104 lead - its first time on top since 2-0.

``He's had some pretty ... good games,'' Miami coach Pat Riley said. ``He's playing extremely well, we're winning and he's stepping up.''

The Bobcats were not surprised to see O'Neal take over.

``He is their superstar, he is their go-to man,'' Gerald Wallace said. ``When they needed a win, they went to him. He pulled it out for them and did what he had to do to get this team a win.''

Raymond Felton was fouled by Williams as he drove toward the basket, but he missed the first of two free throws to prevent the Bobcats from tying it.

Although the Heat missed at the other end, Miami got the offensive rebound and successfully played keep away by tossing the ball around the key until the final buzzer.

Williams finished with 24 points for Miami and Udonis Haslem and Walker each had 16. Haslem also had 13 rebounds.

Wallace led Charlotte with 25 points, 15 rebounds and six steals. Brevin Knight added 24 points and 11 assists, Felton had 19 points and Brezec finished with 10.

Notes: Besides Wade, the Heat were also without center Earl Barron and forward Dorrell Wright. ... Charlotte sent guard Bernard Robinson home with a stomach virus. ... Bobcats coach Bernie Bickerstaff plans to talk with trainers Tuesday about forward Emeka Okafor's status. Okafor has missed 35 games with a sprained ankle. ... Bickerstaff is unsure if forward Sean May, who had knee surgery in January, will play again this year. ``He's chomping at the bit. Right now, he can shoot.'' ... Charlotte city leaders, still glowing from the Monday announcement that NASCAR will build its Hall of Fame here, sat courtside for most of the game.

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Heat-Knicks

mia-heat - 23 de febrero de 2006 - 19:14

Hours after the Knicks made their big deal to get Steve Francis, the Miami Heat showed why they don't think they need one.

Dwyane Wade and Jason Williams each had 24 points and five assists, and the Heat beat New York 103-83 Wednesday night for their fourth straight victory.

Antoine Walker added 16 points and Shaquille O'Neal had 15 for the Heat, who have won nine of 11 overall and six in a row against New York.

Miami coach Pat Riley said before the game that he wasn't planning to be aggressive before Thursday afternoon's trade deadline.

``I don't know why we need to make a trade,'' Walker said. ``I feel like we're going to be together for a while. Everybody feels comfortable here. We played 18 or 19 games without the big fella, and now 50 games into the season things are starting to flow.''

The last-place Knicks acquired Francis from the Orlando Magic earlier Wednesday for Trevor Ariza and Penny Hardaway. Francis could be paired with Stephon Marbury in a high-scoring - and very expensive - backcourt as the Knicks try to salvage a dismal season.

``It adds another player that can play,'' Marbury said. ``We have two explosive guards. We have two guards that can score at any time.''

Marbury returned to the lineup after missing eight straight games and 11 total with an injured right shoulder. Francis appeared at a pregame press conference, but won't make his Knicks debut until at least Friday night against New Jersey.

Channing Frye had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks, who have lost 17 of 19. Marbury was 2-for-11 and had seven points in 30 minutes.

``Physically he got tired,'' Knicks coach Larry Brown said. ``He tried. He seems rusty, but that wasn't totally unexpected. I'm glad he got to play.''

The Heat took control in the closing minutes of the first quarter and early moments of the second. Miami closed the first with a 10-3 spurt to take a 26-18 lead, then opened the second with an 8-2 burst to make it 34-20 on Wade's two free throws with 10:03 remaining in the half.

``We started to play very well at the end of the quarter and from that point on defensively we did a good job,'' Riley said. ``We moved the ball real well and had other guys stepping up. I thought Antoine was really good tonight and we got the win.''

The Knicks got within nine, but Williams made a 3-pointer with 6:45 to go and New York was never within single digits again.

``That's something we've needed out of him,'' Wade said of Williams. ``He's got to hold up his end of the bargain. I told him that this morning and he did that tonight.''

Miami extended the advantage to 19 points before the half, going into the break with a 57-38 lead on a jumper by Williams with 0.5 seconds to go. The Heat shot 23 free throws in the first half, while the Knicks were 3-for-4.

A brief flurry by New York cut it to 10 midway through the third, but Williams made a layup and Wade added seven points in a 10-2 run that gave Miami a 73-55 lead with 3:46 left in the period.

The only drama after that was a skirmish involving O'Neal midway through the final quarter. He shoved Malik Rose for an offensive foul, then threw the ball down in disgust and hit Rose with it, drawing a technical foul. Rose got up and the two jawed as players from both teams gathered while Jamal Crawford shot the technical free throw.

``I would say at least four or five times the double forearm's on his back,'' Riley said. ``And I don't care, he's 340 pounds ... he gets fed up with it because he can't move.''

O'Neal said that wasn't the reason he was annoyed.

``He was just out flopping and the refs fell for it,'' O'Neal said.

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Magic-Heat

mia-heat - 15 de febrero de 2006 - 20:13

Starting a favorable stretch in the schedule, the Miami Heat quickly took advantage.

Dwyane Wade scored 38 points and Miami shot 58 percent Tuesday night in a 107-93 win over the Orlando Magic, who lost their fifth straight game.

Already leading the Southeast Division, the Heat play 22 of their final 31 games against teams with losing records. Their next nine games are against teams at least 10 games below .500.

``We can't say, `We're not playing the best teams in the league, so we can relax.' Not at all,'' Wade said. ``It's the NBA, so we have to focus on getting better, so we can be as good as we're going to get by the time the playoffs come.''

Wade, who scored Miami's final 17 points Sunday in a comeback win over Detroit, again finished strong in less dramatic circumstances. He scored nine straight Heat points to give them a 101-85 lead with 3 minutes left.

Among those enjoying the show were Peyton Manning and Derek Jeter, who sat together in the first row. They were in town to shoot a TV commercial with Wade.

Wade shot 13-for-20 for the Heat, who won despite 20 turnovers to seven for Orlando. Shaquille O'Neal had 25 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks for Miami, still trying to mesh after a major roster shakeup last offseason.

``It is time for us to take advantage of however much time we've spent together,'' coach Pat Riley said.

The Magic, who never led, have lost nine of their past 10 games. They fell to 6-19 on the road.

Miami has won nine of the past 10 in the series. The teams meet again Wednesday night in Orlando, then begin the All-Star break.

``Another win Wednesday will make us feel great about the way we're playing,'' Wade said.

Hedo Turkoglu, Steve Francis and Keyon Dooling scored 15 points each for the Magic, and Grant Hill had 12 off the bench in 20 minutes. The game was Hill's second after missing the previous 13 recovering from a sports hernia.

Wade and O'Neal combined for several scores. Wade earned a hug from O'Neal by leaping to catch a long pass on a fast break, spinning in the air and hitting his teammate under the basket for a dunk.

O'Neal made a no-look pass to set up a dunk by Wade.

``They're as good as any combination in the league - as good as any combination the past 10 years,'' Hill said.

``We're just playing smart basketball,'' O'Neal said.

He started fast for the second game in a row, with the Heat repeatedly pounding the ball to him in the low post as he worked against 20-year-old Dwight Howard.

``He's a tough guy to guard,'' Howard said. ``Sometimes you can't do anything about him scoring. You just have to run back down the court.''

In the past two games, O'Neal has totaled 41 points in the first half.

``It's time for me to start picking it up,'' he said. ``People are playing me a certain way, and I know what to do and when to do it.''

Miami scored in the final second of each of the first two periods - on baskets by Jason Williams and Antoine Walker - and led 61-52 at halftime. It was 77-62 midway through the third quarter, and at that point Miami was shooting 63 percent.

Orlando missed its first seven shots in the final period, helping Miami pull away to a 92-76 lead. The Magic were never closer than 10 points in the final quarter.

Notes: Heat F James Posey and G Gerald Fitch were inactive because of the flu. Posey has started all but seven games. ... F Bo Outlaw (knee) was inactive for Orlando. ... The Magic fell to 0-17 when trailing at the start of the fourth quarter. ... Miami's Shandon Anderson played only 13 minutes and still fouled out.

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