D-WADE TOWS HEAT OVER MAVERICKS
Dwyane Wade re-enacts iconic moment in likely final trip to Dallas
Dwyane Wade finished his pregame warmups by re-enacting his launch of the basketball toward the rafters from the moment he won his first championship with Miami on the home floor of the Dallas Mavericks nearly 13 years ago.
The Heat star closed his night on the bench, with a win secure and many of his fans wearing or holding No. 3 jerseys standing and chanting, “We want Wade,” in the closing minutes.
Wade had done enough already in what was almost certainly his last game in Dallas, scoring 22 points in one of his better games of the season to help the Heat to a 112-101 victory over the Mavericks on Wednesday night.
The 37-year-old who has already said this is his final season was a little better despite a gallant effort from Dirk Nowitzki, his two-time NBA Finals foe whose record 21st season with the same franchise has the feel of an unofficial farewell tour.
The 40-year-old German finished two points shy of his season high with 12, although most of the highlights in their first meeting of the season came in the first half before the Heat outscored the Mavericks 32-16 in the third quarter and led by as many as 21 points in the fourth.
“Talking to Dirk at the end, he was just like, ‘Man, you look good,’” said Wade, relating their conversation while surrounded by cameras during a jersey swap at midcourt after the game.
“I said, ‘You have those days, right?’ But those are the scary days, those days that you can mess around and be like, ‘Well, I can keep playing.’ And then it’ll be a day that you’re like, ‘No, there’s a reason why I’m retiring.’”
Nowitzki and Wade, both added to this weekend’s All-Star game to recognize their decorated careers, entered the final game before the break together midway through the first quarter, which eased the boos on a Wade farewell tour that has been well-received everywhere else.
There were some boos as they took the court, but those were quickly drowned out when many in the crowd stood and cheered two players mostly relegated to supporting roles on mediocre teams after so many years of leading championship-chasing franchises. /