Miami Heat Blog – Page 89 – NBA Blog

Knicks earning some respect from Heat

The game lost some of its luster when Carmelo Anthony had to back out with a finger injury, but the Knicks definitely had the Miami Heat’s attention heading into Thursday night’s meeting.

The defending champs gave the Knicks, who haven’t won a playoff series since 2000, the ultimate respect, and it wasn’t because they beat Miami by 20 on opening night. The Heat’s star players, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, sounded as if they expect the Knicks to challenge them all season.

“In the Eastern Conference, you would have to look up and say they’re the measuring stick right now, and they would say the same about us,” Wade said at the morning shootaround.

Of course, the Heat thought Anthony was playing when those nice things were said. He sat out with a left middle finger laceration suffered in Wednesday’s win in Charlotte…

James didn’t want to give the Knicks much credit before they met in November, but he acknowledged that they’ve become tougher, smarter and harder to defend.

“They’re a more experienced team,” James said. “They’re more dangerous. They added a key piece in Jason Kidd. His basketball IQ is pretty much one of the highest that we have in this league. It kind of trickles down to everyone else.”

— Reported by Al Iannazzone of New York Newsday

Or, as LeBron James put it after putting himself through a postgame workout — as if he, with 31 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists was the problem — “They kicked our ass. They have pretty much dominated us in two games.”

That’s the reality, and Thursday the Knicks did so without Carmelo Anthony, hitting 18-of-44 shots from behind the arc.

“We’ve got work to do,” James said. “We can’t act like, OK, let’s just sweep this under the rug. We’ve got a lot of work to do. New York is a real team, they’ve got

some real good players, and we understand that.”

Why did James work up a postgame sweat in the weight room?

“I’ve got to be better,” James said. “I’ve got to be better. It’s that simple. I’m here, and I’m the last one to leave.”

— Reported by Ethan J. Snolnick of the Palm Beach Post

Norris Cole sits out for Heat

Miami Heat guard Norris Cole had hoped to use Saturday’s performance against the Brooklyn Nets as a steppingstone.

Now, he will have to take a couple steps back before making progress. Cole did not play in Tuesday’s game against the Washington Wizards because of a strained groin.

Cole went through the morning shootaround, but coach Erik Spoelstra said it was best for him to rest rather than risk further injury. He suffered the injury at some point during Saturday’s victory against the Brooklyn Nets.

The decision to sit him was made for precautionary reasons.

— Reported by Shandel Richardson of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Wade scores 34, Heat beat Nets

Dwyane Wade scored a season-high 34 points, LeBron James added 21 points and the Miami Heat rallied from a 14-point deficit to beat the Brooklyn Nets 102-89 on Saturday night.

Ray Allen scored 13 and Norris Cole finished with 12 for the Heat, who won their sixth straight and remained atop the Eastern Conference. Miami held the Nets to 30 points in the second half.

Andray Blatche scored 20 points for Brooklyn, which had won five in a row. Gerald Wallace had 13 points, Joe Johnson added 12 and Deron Williams finished with 10 points and 12 assists.

The Nets were 10 for 31 from the field in the second half and lost to Miami for the 12th straight time.

Wade added seven assists and shot 14 for 20 for Miami. He reached the 30-point mark for the first time this season when he took an alley-oop pass from Allen and slammed the ball for a 90-81 edge with 5:14 left…

Brooklyn had just one field goal in the first 9:06 of the final quarter, missing 10 of 11 shots in that stretch as Miami – despite shooting 5 for 16 over the same stretch – pulled away.

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

Short-handed Spurs fall to Heat, 105-100

When Gregg Popovich gives his best players a night off to rest, it’s not uncommon for the San Antonio Spurs coach to get letters from upset fans.

This time, he’s going to hear from an upset commissioner – even after Popovich’s short-handed team nearly knocked off the Miami Heat.

Ray Allen’s 3-pointer with 22.6 seconds left gave Miami the lead, LeBron James finished with 23 points and the Heat rallied to beat the Spurs 105-100 on Thursday night – digging deep despite San Antonio’s decision to have four top players resting at home in a move that bothered NBA Commissioner David Stern.

The Spurs played without Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green, all sent back to San Antonio by Popovich, who said the move was in his team’s best interest…

Allen scored 20 points, Dwyane Wade added 19 and Chris Bosh finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds for Miami, now 7-0 at home.

Neal had 20 points for the Spurs. Tiago Splitter scored 18 points, Nando De Colo added 15, Boris Diaw scored 12 and Bonner had 10 for San Antonio, which finished a six-games-in-nine-nights road trip with a 5-1 record. Bonner also had 10 rebounds, one more than he had grabbed all season entering the game…

San Antonio closed the first quarter on a 21-6 run, taking a 27-22 lead after the period, and simply did not go away. The Spurs led by as many as seven at one point, and after James Anderson made a pair of free throws with 0.6 seconds left in the third, San Antonio held a 76-73 lead heading into the final 12 minutes.

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

Haslem closing in on Heat rebound record

When Udonis Haslem was trying to make the Miami Heat take notice of him a decade ago, assistant coach Keith Askins gave him one piece of advice.

He told Haslem every NBA player can score, but not everyone rebounds.

Haslem remembers that conversation so well that he’s about to become the most prolific rebounder in Heat history.

Odds are, he’ll have that title sometime Wednesday night, when the reigning NBA champion Heat start a homestand against the Milwaukee Bucks. Haslem will come into that game needing only two rebounds to pass Alonzo Mourning for Miami’s all-time lead in that department – Mourning grabbed 4,807 rebounds in 593 regular-season Heat games, while Haslem is at 4,806 rebounds after 605 games.

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

LeBron, Durant named NBA Players of Week through November 18

The Miami Heat’s LeBron James and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant were today named Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Nov. 12, through Sunday, Nov. 18.

In guiding the Heat to a 3-1 week, James averaged a league-best 29.0, while adding 7.3 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.25 blocks. James’ week included a personal season-high 38 points Nov. 12 at Houston in which he scored 32 in the second half while leading the Heat to a come-from-behind 113-110 victory. The 32 second-half points tied the franchise record for points in any half.

Durant helped the Thunder to a 3-1 week by averaging a point/rebound double-double, which included a Western Conference-best 28.0 ppg and a team-high 10.3 rpg. Durant added 5.8 apg, 1.75 spg and 1.75 bpg. He capped off his week by posting his first career triple-double – 25 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists – in the Thunder’s 119-109 win over the Golden State Warriors Sunday.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Atlanta’s Kyle Korver, Charlotte’s Kemba Walker, Detroit’s Greg Monroe, Memphis’ Marc Gasol, Rudy Gay and Zach Randolph, Milwaukee’s Brandon Jennings, New York’s Raymond Felton, Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook, Portland’s Nicolas Batum, and Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan and Jose Calderon.

LeBron leads Heat past Nuggets 98-93

LeBron James had 27 points and 12 assists, and the short-handed Miami Heat ended a decade-long drought in Denver with a 98-93 win over the Nuggets on Thursday night.

Shane Battier added 18 points – all on 3-pointers – in the Heat’s first win at Denver since Jan. 29, 2002, a streak of 10 straight losses. Every other NBA team has won at the Pepsi Center during that span.

The Heat nearly blew a 19-point second-half lead but held on despite being without Dwyane Wade (foot) and Mario Chalmers, who went to the bench after just 7 1/2 minutes with a strained right triceps.

Andre Miller had 19 points and Kenneth Faried led the Nuggets with 16 points and a career-high 20 rebounds. Ty Lawson, who is averaging 13.5 points, didn’t score.

Lawson would have given Denver its first lead of the night with 5:35 remaining, but his basket was waived off when he was whistled for an offensive foul for running over Battier…

JaVale McGee had 18 points, including a hook shot after getting the inbounds with just 0.4 seconds left on the shot clock that made it 79-74, and the Nuggets chipped away until Andre Miller’s three-point play pulled Denver to 85-84.

— Reported by Arnie Stapleton of the Associated Press

LeBron James, Kenneth Faried named Players of Week

The Miami Heat’s LeBron James and the Denver Nuggets’ Kenneth Faried were today named Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Nov. 5, through Sunday, Nov. 11.

James guided the Heat to a 3-1 week with averages of 21.0 points on .569 shooting from the field, a conference-best 11.0 rebounds (tied with the Brooklyn Nets’ Kris Humphries), and 6.0 assists. James grabbed his 5,000th career rebound on Nov. 9 during Miami’s 95-89 win over Atlanta. James posted a point-rebound double-double in all four of Miami’s contests on the week and handed out six or more assists in three-of-four games.

Faried helped the Nuggets to a 4-0 week, posting three point-rebound double-doubles in the process. Faried averaged 16.8 points on .563 shooting from the field to go alongside 12.8 rebounds (second in the conference to Memphis’ Zach Randolph’s 14.3 rpg), 1.8 blocks and 1.0 steals. Faried tallied 18 points, 17 rebounds, three blocks and two steals during a 107-101 victory at Golden State to close the week.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were New York’s Carmelo Anthony, Memphis’ Zach Randolph, Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka, Philadelphia’s Jrue Holiday and Charlotte’s Kemba Walker.

Heat beat Nets by 30 in Miami

Dwyane Wade scored 22 points on 10 for 14 shooting, LeBron James finished two assists shy of a triple-double and the Miami Heat improved to 4-0 at home for the first time in franchise history by beating the Brooklyn Nets 103-73 on Wednesday night.

James had 20 points and 12 rebounds in only 30 minutes, and Rashard Lewis scored 13 points for the Heat (4-1). Miami – which plays its next six games on the road – has won its four home games by an average of 17.8 points.

Kris Humphries had a double-double by halftime, then was silent in the second half and finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Nets (1-2). Deron Williams scored 14 for Brooklyn, which got 12 off the bench from MarShon Brooks.

The Nets had 19 turnovers, which Miami turned into 31 points…

The Nets were without Gerald Wallace, who missed his second straight game with a sprained left ankle.

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

InsideHoops.com notes: Deron Williams dished just three assists while committing seven turnovers… Keith Bogans, who started at shooting guard for Brooklyn, contributed just three points and two rebounds… Nets swingman Joe Johnson shot just 4-of-14 for nine points and little else… The Heat as a team shot 52 percent from the field.

Dwyane Wade thinks NBA should have postponed Heat at Knicks game

The NBA is getting Heat from one of its marquee players over Friday night’s game between Miami and the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

Dwyane Wade took to Twitter to express his feelings over the league’s decision not to postpone the contest between the two Eastern Conference rivals in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

“3 hour traffic just to get into the NY city.. C’monMan…” Wade tweeted on Thursday night.

Wade clarified his comments later on after deleting that original tweet.

“2 be clear “Traffic tweet was meant 2 say”… We shouldn’t B hre 2 play a basketball game when theirs so many families obviously still R affected by #Sandy,” Wade wrote.

— Reported by Anthony Sulla-Heffinger of the New York Post (Blog)