Heat-Bobcats Preview

DAN BURCH
Posted Dec 28 2011 1:15AM

Following wins in two rivalry games to open the season, the Miami Heat now look to continue their fast start when they visit the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night.

The Heat have trailed just once in two season-opening victories - by only two points for 14 seconds. On Christmas Day, Miami got a small measure of revenge against Dallas, roughing up the Mavericks 105-94 and ruining the reigning champions' banner-raising celebration. The Heat beat Boston 115-107 on Tuesday, hanging on after nearly blowing a 20-point lead.

LeBron James scored 26 and rookie Norris Cole had 14 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter for the Heat, who look to open 3-0 for the second time in three seasons.

"He's earned their respect," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Cole, who attended Cleveland State. "Even though it's been a short period of time, about three weeks, because he's pure, he's all about the team. He's mature ... and he gets them the ball. You're always a popular guy when you find people when they're open."

Cole, drafted in the first round by Chicago and eventually traded to Miami in a series of draft-night moves, knocked down three jumpers in the final quarter and sealed the victory with two free throws with under 10 seconds remaining.

"We have confidence in whoever's on the floor at that time," James said. "For him to make those shots and come up big in a game like that, give credit to him."

Miami now hits the road to face a team it has dominated recently. The Heat have won five in a row over Charlotte. Overall, the Heat have won six straight on the road, including Sunday's win over Dallas. They went 28-13 last season away from home.

Charlotte beat Milwaukee 96-95 on Monday in its season opener. D.J. Augustin scored 19 points and rookie Kemba Walker added 13 in his NBA debut. Both point guards were on the floor at the end of the game and combined to score the last seven Bobcat points as Charlotte erased a 14-point second-half deficit.

A similar performance will be needed to top the Heat, who won all four matchups last season.

"I'd like to see how we do against a team like that," Bobcats coach Paul Silas said. "Can we stay competitive and not get blown away? I think if we do that we will have a chance to really improve. But it's tough to keep a team like that down. They're just so talented it's unbelievable."

Augustin sprained his left ankle in the final minute of Monday's game. He didn't practice Tuesday but expects to face the Heat.

"I watched them play on Christmas and they look like they have a chip on their shoulder," Augustin said. "We know they have a great team, so we have to come in and play hard like we did (against the Bucks)."

Charlotte has started 2-0 just once in franchise history, in 2007-08. These teams meet again Sunday in Miami.

Wade's winning shot lifts Heat over Bobcats 96-95

By STEVE REED
Posted Dec 28 2011 10:47PM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) When Dwyane Wade was told he was going to take the winning shot against the Charlotte Bobcats, he nearly deferred to the hotter LeBron James.

Then Wade thought better of it.

"When (coach Erik Spoelstra) called it, I was shocked because this guy had it going on," Wade said, pointing to James. "I wasn't in the flow. I was about to say, `Let LeBron run it.' Then I said, `You know what, I'll do it."'

And he did.

With James in the corner, Wade brought the ball up, drove to the left side and banked a 10-footer over Gerald Henderson with 2.9 seconds remaining Wednesday night to lift the Heat to a 96-95 victory over the pesky Bobcats to remain unbeaten at 3-0.

After Wade's shot gently fell through the net, he turned to Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton seated courtside and imitated Newton's popular Superman touchdown celebration by pretending to rip open his shirt.

"It's a great homage to him," Wade said. "He was laughing. He was cracking up. But it was great respect to him. I wasn't trying to show nobody up. It's about how much respect we have for the athletes."

The Bobcats had a chance to steal one at the buzzer, but D.J. Augustin's 3-point attempt off a side inbounds play didn't fall and D.J. White's follow at the buzzer rolled off the rim as time expired.

Wade, who missed almost the entire third quarter with a bruised foot, only had 10 points on 5 of 13 shooting.

James led all scorers with 35 points, while Chris Bosh added 25. They combined for 35 second-half points to overcome a 60-45 halftime deficit.

Henderson led the Bobcats with 21 points, including a 3-pointer with 12 seconds remaining to give the Bobcats the lead at 95-94. Augustin finished with 20 points, while center Boris Diaw turned in another terrific game with 16 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists.

James said he wasn't upset Wade got the last shot.

"I guess that's why they give him the big bucks," laughed James.

"Hey, they deserved to take my money today," Wade said. "But I earned my money toward the end."

Said James: "D-Wade said he finally earned it. He didn't play well tonight but, hey, nobody cares about what else you do after you hit a game-winner like that. That was a big shot by him."

But it was James who brought the Heat back, taking his team on his shoulders in the third quarter.

"I feel good and this is the best I've felt in a while," James said. "I'm back to having fun playing the game and doing what I do best and that's attacking and getting to the free throw line."

James was 9 for 9 from the foul line.

The Heat needed to dig deep after a sluggish first half in front of a crowd of 19,614 fans, the largest ever to see a Bobcats game at Time Warner Cable Arena.

They had plenty of help from the Bobcats, who turned the ball over 12 times on 25 third-quarter possessions.

"In the third quarter, we turned it over too many times," Bobcats coach Paul Silas said. "It got them back in the game. Once they got back in the game, we played tough. They're just too good."

Said Diaw: "I think they adjusted to what we did in the first half and made a conscious effort to be in the line of passes and really focusing on stealing the ball in the second half."

Still, it was an encouraging game for the young Bobcats, who are clearly in a rebuilding mode.

They seemed to feed off the crowd early on and certainly weren't intimidated by the Eastern Conference champions jumping out to an 11-0 lead. They led by as many as 16 points in the first half against a Heat team that hadn't trailed for more than 14 seconds in their first two games.

"I think we surprised by playing so aggressive," Diaw said. "And shots were falling and we were really committed defensively."

The Bobcats got plenty of open looks in the first half, using a pick-and-pop to free up center Diaw for 3-pointers from the top of the key. Augustin was fearless in the first half, showing no signs of a sprained ankle from Monday night by hitting on 3 of 4 3-pointers in the first half for 16 points as the Bobcats took a 60-45 lead into the locker room.

"In order for us to be successful, we're going to have to defense better than that," James said.

Even without an established big man, the Bobcats outrebounded the Heat 53-30.

The Heat looked out of sync and frustrated early on.

James got pickpocketed by Derrick Brown in the halfcourt set and later threw up an air ball - one of two in the game - on a turnaround jumper after posting up low against Corey Maggette.

The other two-thirds of Miami's Big Three also struggled, with Bosh getting rejected in the paint by rookie Bismack Biyombo and Wade hitting just 2 of 8 from the field.

Notebook: Heat 96, Bobcats 95

By Derek S. Smith, for NBA.com
Posted Wednesday December 28, 2011 10:54PM

THE FACTS: Dwyane Wade scored with 2.9 second left to lift the Miami Heat to a 96-95 come-from-behind victory over the Charlotte Bobcats Wednesday night at Time Warner Cable Arena. LeBron James led all scorers with 35 points while Chris Bosh added 25 points for the Heat who improved to 3-0 on the season. Gerald Henderson scored 21 and D.J. Augustin added 20 for the Bobcats who led by as many as 15 in the second half, but were unable to hold on for the win.

QUOTABLE: "When he called it, I was shocked. This guy [LeBron James] had it going. I wasn't in the flow. I was about to say let [LeBron James] run it, but then I said I'll do it. I embraced as I thought about it. I got a glimpse of the rim and that's when I shot it. I earned my check at the end of the game."
-- Dwyane Wade

THE STAT: Turnovers. Charlotte came into the game knowing that it had to control the ball in order to win the game. The Bobcats had a 15-point lead at the half and had only committed six turnovers. However the Bobcats committed 11 turnovers in the third quarter which led to 14 points for the Heat and only a one-point lead as the fourth quarter began. Charlotte finished the game with 22 turnovers which the Heat turned into 27 points. On the other side, Charlotte only forced 10 turnovers and was able to just get 12 points created.

TURNING POINT: The third quarter. Miami dominated Charlotte in the decisive third quarter outscoring the Bobcats 24-10. The teams swapped six-point runs to open the quarter, but then Miami turned on the defensive pressure. Charlotte made just 2-for-11 in the final 8:34 of the third quarter and also committed nine turnovers.

QUOTABLE II: "In order for us to be successful, we know that we have to defend better out there. This is going to help us be better down the road."
-- LeBron James

HOT: James. The Miami guard made 13-for-23 from the floor and connected on all nine of his free-throw attempts. He also added six boards, seven assists, three steals and two blocks. LeBron scored 20 of his game-high 35 points in the second half and helped hold the Bobcats offense to only 36.8 percent shooting in the second half.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Boris Diaw had another multi-faceted game for the Bobcats. The Charlotte "center" scored 16 points which included a pair of 3s, grabbed 16 rebounds and added eight assists, one steal and one block. Diaw leads the team in both assists and rebounds through the first two games of the season.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was again at the Bobcats game cheering on his friend Kemba Walker and the rest of the Bobcats.

GOOD MOVE: Going back to Wade. Despite a turnover on the previous play, Miami coach Erik Spoelstra saw a hole in the Bobcats defense and chose to design the game-winning play for Wade. The Heat guard drove to the basket and pulled up for an 8-foot jumper with 2.9 seconds to play which proved to be the game-winner.

ROOKIE WATCH: Walker scored in double figures again with a 14-point performance which included three assists. The Bobcats other first-round draft pick Bismack Biyombo scored his first NBA points and added four rebounds and two blocks. Norris Cole, who scored 20 against Boston Tuesday night, was held to five points on 2-for-8 shooting.

NOTABLE: Wade landed awkwardly in the first half and did not return until the 1:23 mark of the third quarter ... Charlotte outrebounded Miami 53-30 and has outrebounded its opponents by 36 in two games ... Walker has scored in double figures in both games in his NBA career ... Diaw was the first Charlotte player to record a double-double this season with his 16-point, 16-rebound outing ... Miami had a season low 10 turnovers and a season low scoring output with 96 ... James had led the team in scoring in all three games and Udonis Haslem had led the team in rebounding in each game thus far.

UP NEXT: For the Heat, Friday @ Minnesota, Sunday vs. Charlotte, Monday vs. Atlanta. For the Bobcats, Friday vs. Orlando, Sunday @ Miami, Tuesday @ Cleveland.

• Heat: Curry, Miller
• Bobcats: Najera, Williams

• Heat: --
• Bobcats: --

• Lead Changes: 3
• Times Tied: 6

• Arena: Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, NC
• Officials: #19 James Capers, #11 Derrick Collins, #72 J.T. Orr
• Attendance: 19614
• Duration: 2:16