Nets-Heat Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
Posted Dec 01 2012 12:03AM

Fourth-quarter comebacks are becoming routine for the Miami Heat thanks in large part to Ray Allen.

They don't tend to worry about that against the Brooklyn Nets, but that may change.

Allen and the Heat will try to make things easier on themselves Saturday night when they go for a 12th straight win over the Nets, one of the league's hottest teams.

Miami (11-3) owns the best record in the Eastern Conference, but six of those victories have needed four-quarter rallies - and Allen has been instrumental in three.

The latest dramatic ending came Thursday in Miami's 105-100 win that will be remembered more for who was not playing for San Antonio, which sent four starters home before the game to rest due to its congested schedule.

Despite facing a team full of reserves, Allen delivered again - scoring 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, including a 3-pointer with 22.6 seconds left to give the Heat the lead for good.

"It is nothing that we work on," said Allen, who averages 13.4 points after signing with Miami as a free agent from Boston. "It is just playing the game of basketball down the stretch."

The Heat have needed to rally in the final period to win the first three of this four-game homestand, improving to 7-0 at home.

"You can't take that for granted and that's not understated," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Your late-game execution on both ends of the court really matters against quality opponents because you're always going to be dealing with close games. And when you don't build that confidence, that's a tough thing to capture."

Allen's clutch efforts are certainly building Miami's late-game confidence. He's connected on 11 of 22 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, including 5 of 8 in the final three minutes. That includes hitting 3-pointers in the waning seconds for victories over Denver and Cleveland.

The 10-time All-Star guard is also thriving at home, averaging 17.1 points while hitting 59.4 percent of his shots from beyond the arc.

His late-game heroics weren't needed versus Brooklyn (11-4) on Nov. 7, when the Heat won 103-73 at home for their most lopsided win of the season.

Miami has won 11 in a row against the Nets and seven straight at home while holding them to 85.1 points per game and 40.0 percent from the field.

LeBron James is averaging 28.6 points over his last 18 meetings with Brooklyn. He nearly got a triple-double Nov. 7, totaling 20 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists in just 30 minutes.

Brooklyn, however, is 10-2 since that loss and enters this meeting on a season high-tying five-game winning streak, during which it's allowing an average of 83.8 points and 26.0 percent shooting from long range.

The Nets kept their streak going Friday, beating Orlando 98-86 in their first game without center and leading scorer Brook Lopez, who will miss this game with a mild right foot sprain. He is averaging 18.5 points and 6.8 rebounds.

Since their main inside presence is unavailable, the Nets may again try to rely on strong perimeter play. They've made 21 of 44 3-pointers over the last two games, with Gerald Wallace converting 5 of 6 for a season-high 20 points against the Magic.

The forward has made 5 of 9 attempts from beyond the arc while averaging 19.7 points over his last three meetings with Miami, but a sprained left ankle forced him to miss last month's matchup.

Joe Johnson was held to nine points on 4 of 14 shooting in that meeting, but he scored 22 Friday.

Wade's 34 lifts Heat past Nets, 102-89

By TIM REYNOLDS
Posted Dec 01 2012 11:17PM

MIAMI (AP) More than four hours before game time, Dwyane Wade was alone on the Miami Heat practice court, just getting some shots up by himself. No coaches around, no teammates, no trainers, just him, a ball and his thoughts.

It sparked his best scoring effort of the season.

Wade scored 34 points, LeBron James added 21 and the Heat rallied from a 14-point deficit to beat the Brooklyn Nets 102-89 on Saturday night to remain atop the Eastern Conference.

"I knew this was a big game for us, to come in versus a team that's been playing very well," Wade said. "And I wanted to sure I came out ready. So I wanted to get in early and made sure I did everything possible."

Ray Allen scored 13 and Norris Cole finished with 12 for the Heat, who won their sixth straight. Miami trailed by 14 points in the second quarter and was down by nine at halftime, before outscoring Brooklyn 52-30 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.

"Just a tale of two halves," Nets coach Avery Johnson said. "We just seemed to have worn down a little bit. We made some mistakes there that's not our team. It's uncharacteristic of us. We're a team that takes care of the ball."

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.

He added a 10-footer on Miami's next possession for the Heat's first double-digit edge of the game, helping the reigning NBA champions move to 8-0 at home this season.

"This was a step-forward game for us," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "It was good to see our guys connected again. We didn't necessarily play our best basketball in the first half, but in some ways, it was our best win."

Miami has made a living off fourth-quarter comebacks this season, already winning six games where it trailed at some point in the final 12 minutes.

The latest Heat rally came a quarter earlier than usual.

Down 73-65 with 4:41 left in the third after trailing all night long, Miami ran off 10 straight points, and needed just 93 seconds to make it all happen.

Wade scored to get the Heat within two, then had a steal and dunk that tied the game. James had another steal-and-slam to give the Heat their first edge, 75-73 with 3:08 left in the period. James set up Mike Miller for a 3-pointer from the left corner with 1:51 left for an 80-75 edge, capping a 15-2 Miami burst.

And then Miami slammed the door with defense.

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.

"We're a veteran ballclub and we understand that in order for us to win ballgames, in order for us to compete and defend our title, we have to defend," James said. "It was good to see we took care of that tonight."

The Heat won by 30 the first time these teams met this season. It took the Nets only a few minutes to show this matchup would be much different.

Midway through the first quarter, Brooklyn was already holding a 15-4 lead. James had two fouls by the end of the quarter - the second coming on the offensive end in the final seconds - and the Nets were up 24-16 after the opening 12 minutes, holding Miami 10 points below its first-quarter average for the season.

Brooklyn continued to control the game in the second, going up 35-21 early in the quarter and still leading by 13 after Spoelstra got whistled for a technical foul, apparently upset with a no-call where Wade was knocked to the floor on a drive.

The Heat seemed sparked by Spoelstra's technical, getting within five, but the Nets survived a brief Miami flurry and took a 59-50 lead into halftime, helped in large part by Johnson connecting on three jumpers in the span of about a minute.

"I think we are just as good as them," Wallace said. "We know what we've got to do offensively. You all watched the game. I think we were in the game until we pretty much until we started with unforced turnovers and started giving them easy baskets, but other than that I think we controlled this game, we had an opportunity to win and we should have won."

NOTES: James spent part of his day tracking his alma mater, St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, winning a state football championship - and yes, the reigning NBA MVP, who got a Heat championship ring, was given a Kentucky NCAA title ring and helped the U.S. win Olympic gold in London this year, wants a ring for the football title as well. "I'm making a call," James said. ... Players from both teams wore red-and-white shooting shirts in recognition of World AIDS Day, and coaches wore red ribbons to commemorate the day as well. ... The Nets have not won in Miami since Feb. 1, 2008. ... James has scored at least 20 points in all 15 Miami games this season. ... The Nets are now 7-3 against last season's playoff teams.

Notebook: Heat 102, Nets 89

Zachary Paul, for NBA.com
Posted Sat Dec 01, 2012 11:00 PM - Updated Sat Dec 01, 2012 11:09 PM

THE FACTS: The Miami Heat defeated the Brooklyn Nets 102-89 Saturday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Guard Dwyane Wade scored a season-high 34 points and had seven assists to lead the Heat. The Heat trailed most of the first half before taking control in the third quarter. Miami shot 51 percent against a Nets team that had held opponents to 90 points a game.

With Wade handling the scoring load, LeBron James was able to have somewhat of an off night. James finished with 21 points on 8 of 15 shooting. He also had nine rebounds and six assists.

The Heat rallied from a 14-point, first-half deficit behind the play of James and Wade. They also received a lift off the bench from Ray Allen (13 points) and Norris Cole (12 points).

The Nets were led by Andray Blatche, who finished with a team-high 20 points and eight rebounds.

QUOTABLE: "This was a step forward game for us. It was good to see our guys connected again. We didn't necessarily play great basketball in the first half but in the some ways this was our best win. This was our best game in terms of connection, communication and commitment to each other." -- Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.

THE STAT: Wade shot 14 of 20 from the field.

TURNING POINT: Trailing 73-65, the Heat shifted momentum with an 8-0 run to tie the score. They went ahead for good on Wade's breakaway dunk with 2:31 left in the third quarter.

HOT: Two days after Charles Barkley said on TNT that Wade needed to learn to play below the rim, the Heat guard responded with his best game of the season. Although Wade impressed with his efficiency, it was his energy that best showed he's far from being considered an "old" player.

NOT: While Deron Williams hurt the Heat in the first half as a distributor, the Nets need more from him as a scorer. Williams struggled from the field for the most part. Much of it could be attributed to the defense of James and Cole.

GOOD MOVE: James has often been criticized for deferring, but he made the right call to turn the game over to Wade. With Wade going strong, it enabled James to take on the role of secondary scorer and primary facilitator.

BAD MOVE: The Nets played more like that other team from New York. They got a little too comfortable at the 3-point line instead of utilizing their size advantage on the inside, finishing 6 of 28 from the arc.

NOTABLE: The Nets were without center Brook Lopez, who missed his second straight game with a sore foot ... Heat forward Shane Battier missed his second consecutive game with a sprained right knee ... The Heat are 8-0 at home this season ... The Heat became just the sixth opponent to score at least 100 points against the Nets ... Brooklyn has lost 12 straight to the Heat.

UP NEXT: For the Heat, Tuesday @ Wizards, Thursday vs. Knicks, Saturday vs. Hornets. For the Nets, Tuesday vs. Thunder, Friday vs. Warriors, Sunday vs. Bucks.

• Nets: Lopez, Shengelia
• Heat: Battier, Harrellson

• Nets: Bogans, Johnson
• Heat: Allen, Spoelstra

• Lead Changes: 1
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: American Airlines Arena, Miami, FL
• Officials: #48 Scott Foster, #74 Curtis Blair, #45 Brian Forte
• Attendance: 19961
• Duration: 2:19