Dwyane Wade And Chris Bosh Combine For 58 In Heat Win Over Pacers

Monday night’s game against the Indiana Pacers didn’t start smoothly for the Miami Heat. Tip-off was delayed by half an hour due to a lighting issue. Miami trailed by 10 after the first quarter and shot a season-worst 38% from the floor. But none of that mattered as they ground out a 103-100 win in overtime.

Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh teamed for 58 points (27 and 31 respectively), but even with their efforts the Heat struggled to close out the game, too. After their rough start, Miami trailed by as many as 18 points in the third quarter and needed a last second Wade lay-up to force overtime.

Rookie Justise Winslow also suffered cramping so severe that he required intravenous fluids after the game; despite that, he never left the floor down the stretch.

“This was classic Eastern Conference basketball,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.”Whatever it takes.”

For the Pacers, Paul George led the way with 32 points. He could not be the hero, however, as his shot in the dying seconds of overtime clanged off the rim. “I had a good enough look,” he said.

Neither team may be as dominant as they once were, but it was hard not to recall the playoff match-ups the Heat and Pacers had a few years ago.

“It felt like a playoff game,” Wade said. “So I’m glad we found a way to pull it out.”

Photo: Dwyane Wade by Keith Allison via Wikimedia Commons

Article by Joe Kozlowski