IN THE LANE

WINNING MATTERS: So why the apparent about face with LaMarcus Aldridge opting for the Brooklyn Nets over the Heat after receiving his buyout from the San Antonio Spurs? Winning. Winning. Winning.“You’re listening to teams and listening to players telling you what they want, and Brooklyn made it known right away that they were very interested,” said Aldridge, who was personally recruited by Kevin Durant.“KD hit me quick and said definitely come here. It was just waiting it out, weighing my options, and then I just ended up coming here. It’s a pretty good team, and I definitely think I can help.”Aldridge started in his Nets debut, closing with 11 points, nine rebounds and six assists in a victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

ODD PARTING: Rarely does a team sending out a player at the trading deadline offer anything but platitudes. That wasn’t the case with Houston Rockets General Manager Rafael Stone when it came of the trade of Victor

Oladipo to the Heat.“We had kind of organizationally made a decision that the Victor fit wasn’t a good one,” Stone said in media update after the deadline.“At that point, what do you do? Then it became time to make a deal that has some upside and move on to the next stage.”

EASING IN: Rockets coach Stephen Silas said it took only a single half of a single game to see how Kelly Olynyk, acquired from the Heat in the Oladipo deal, could help his team’s young players.“At halftime, I went in the locker room and I told the coaches, ‘He is a connector,’“Silas said.“He is someone who plays in a way that makes everybody else play well. He’s not just a shooter. He can handle the ball. He can make plays for others. He has a knack for the game you don’t find very much and we haven’t seen since I’ve been here.”

PERMISSION GRANTED: Aware of how much of a fan favorite Jason Williams was with the Sacramento Kings, Delon Wright said he asked permission of the retired point guard to take his No. 55 with the Kings after his trade from the Detroit Pistons. Wright’s brother, Dorell Wright, was a teammate of Williams on the 2006 championship Heat. With permission granted, Delon Wright posted on Twitter,“It’s an honor to wear 55! Appreciate you @55buckets for allowing me to wear this special number. JWill made it cool for guards to wear that double nickel, it’s an honor bro.”The Heat, by contrast, have issued No. 55 four time since Williams’ departure in 2008, to Eddie House, Josh Harrellson, Shawne Williams and, now, Duncan Robinson.

NEEDED NEEDLE: Like many teams, the Pacers are in the midst of receiving their COVID-19 vaccinations. Forward Domantas Sabonis said ahead of his team’s Wednesday night loss to the Heat that it is a potential game changer.“The more of us that get it,” he said,“the better for the team in the sense of less testing, not waking up so early to come and get tested before shootaround, stuff like that. So it will definitely make it feel more like a normal season on the road.”

NUMBER

Heat victories this season when scoring fewer than 100 points, most in the league, including this past week in New York and Indiana. Twelve teams, entering the weekend, had yet to win in that situation this season.