Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Wade’s spurt keys 3-1 trip
Leads Heat with 20 in helping retain playoff position
WASHINGTON — The crowd arrived to celebrate Dwyane Wade’s final D.C. appearance.
Wade, as he has throughout this “One Last Dance” retirement tour, provided ample opportunity for applause.
And, in the end, it left the Miami Heat in particularly good cheer, capping off a successful road trip with a 113-108 victory Saturday night over the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena.
“This is fun,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said after Wade scored 11 of his teamhigh 20 points in the fourth quarter. “I’m trying to enjoy every minute of this. I think that round ball, I think this, that game, and I think this team is really keeping him young.
“When you really need something, your back against the wall, there’s nothing like having a Hall of Famer.”
After victories in Oklahoma City and San Antonio and then Friday night’s blowout loss in Milwaukee, the Heat retained their hold on a playoff seed with an effort inspired by their 37-year-old icon.
“We took care of business,” Wade said. “I don’t think a lot of people thought we would go 3-1 when they looked at the schedule, so our team is playing well, playing with a lot of confidence.”
Wade was supported by 19 points from Dion Waiters, 18 from Josh Richardson and 16 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists from Bam Adebayo.
Five degrees of Heat from Saturday’s game:
1. The race update: With the victory the Heat moved a game ahead of the idle Orlando Magic in the race for the eighth and final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference heading into Sunday’s games, with the Heat at 36-37 and the Magic at 35-38.
The teams meet Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena, with the Heat idle until then and the Magic to enter on the second night of a backto-back set following a Monday home game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Heat also were unable to gain ground on the No. 10 Charlotte Hornets, who stormed back for a victory Saturday over the Boston Celtics. Charlotte, which holds the tiebreaker against the Heat, is 2 1⁄2 games back at 33-39.
2. Wade’s world: With the Heat flailing in the second period, their deficit having grown to 13, Wade helped turn the momentum with a pair of plays late in the quarter.
First there was a Wade assist for a Richardson 3-pointer with 54 seconds to play in the half and then a Wade 3-pointer with six seconds left to leave the Heat within, 53-52, at the intermission.
Wade received loud ovations each time he entered, eliciting, “Let’s Go Heat!” cheers in the fourth quarter.
“I said it before the game, I’m not so sure why he’s retiring,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said. “The NBA needs to just fine the Miami Heat for allowing him to retire, just fine them, just flatout fine the whole team. They should not allow him to retire. He’s too good. He’s too fun to watch.
“Just look at the crowd. He draws a crowd wherever he goes. He’s a winner. The guy competes. His spirit is always in the right spot. You can see all the joy that he plays with.”
Brooks added, “I didn’t like the ‘Let’s go Heat’ chant. But other than that, it was pretty cool.”
3. Waiters loads up: While he again achieved most of his success from deep, Waiters eclipsed 18 points for the second time on the trip, having scored that many in Wednesday’s victory in San Antonio.
Prior to that Wednesday outing, Waiters had gone 13 games without an 18-point performance. His contribution was needed, with Justise Winslow and Rodney McGruder again sidelined.
“He was big, because he wasn’t feeling well,” Spoelstra said, with Waiters late for the pregame layup line and then retreating to the locker room shortly before being on the court for the opening tip. “And so he was a late commitment to the game. He had an IV before the game. He was really feeling under the weather.”
4. Third big: A trip that began with Hassan Whiteside playing five minutes in the victory in Oklahoma City ended with another limited engagement for the former starting center, this time a single stint of 4:59 in the first half.
“We won. That’s it,” he said when asked for comment.
Instead it had Adebayo filling out the box score.
“Bam did it in so many different ways,” Spoelstra said. “He was inspiring guys with his defense. If a couple of guys could had made a couple more open shots, he would have had a triple-double.”
Adebayo said his only triple-doubles came in high school.
5. Ground bound: A night after missing all nine of his attempts in Friday’s loss in Milwaukee, Goran Dragic missed his first three attempts Saturday, the bulky brace on his right knee a reminder of his gradual path back as a reserve from his December knee surgery.
Even when in the open court, Dragic seemingly stayed away from his instinctive attack style, closing 3 of 9 from the field.