Timberwolves-Heat Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
Posted Dec 18 2012 12:46AM

Sitting atop the Southeast Division and winning three of four with improved defensive play doesn't seem to be good enough for the Miami Heat.

Extending that stretch with another victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves may begin changing their mood.

The Heat attempt to build on perhaps their best defensive effort of the season Tuesday night as they try to beat the Timberwolves for the fifth time in a row.

Miami (15-6) has won three of four while limiting opponents to an average of 87.8 points after giving up 103.3 over the previous six.

The Heat's latest defensive performance may have been their best of the season as they beat Washington 102-72 on Saturday. They allowed a season low in points while matching their mark for lowest shooting percentage allowed at 37.5.

According to Chris Bosh, efforts like Saturday's won't mean anything if they can't build on them.

"We're at the point where we have to really start getting some carryover into other games," Bosh said. "Just being consistent on defense. I'm not worried about offense. Offense is going to take care of itself, especially when we start getting more stops."

The Heat have had few issues offensively, leading the Eastern Conference with 103.1 points per game. That may only increase against the Timberwolves (12-10) since Miami has won four in a row in the series while averaging 110.0 points on 52.9 percent shooting.

LeBron James came two rebounds shy of a triple-double in a 103-101 road win in the most recent matchup Dec. 30. He finished with 34 points and 10 assists, including one on Dwyane Wade's game-winning alley-oop assist with 4.6 seconds left.

Wade finished with 19 points, but he's averaging 30.4 over his last nine with the Timberwolves.

Minnesota is trying to bounce back from Monday's 102-93 loss at Orlando, which snapped its four-game winning streak. The Timberwolves shot 31.9 percent in the final 24 minutes two days after shooting 40.0 percent in the second half of a 114-106 overtime win against Dallas.

"What happened in the second half is exactly what has been happening the last few games," said center Nikola Pekovic, who is averaging 23.3 points and 9.3 boards in his last four games. "We have a good first half and then lose our concentration."

Kevin Love had 23 points and 15 boards after missing Saturday's game with the flu, and he'll hope a 10-of-20 shooting night spells the end of a terrible stretch from the floor. Love had shot 30.0 percent over his previous seven games.

Love's poor shooting stretch means little to Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who's concerned with the energy Love brings.

"You can have probably an outstanding game matching his effort and blocking him out, and he'll still get 14 rebounds and end up with four or five offensive rebounds, tips and extra possessions," Spoelstra said. "He's unique. He's an anomaly at that position. There's no way to define how he does it. He's able to find a way and it's remarkable."

It seems Miami won't have to deal with Ricky Rubio, who isn't expected to play in the second half of a back-to-back as he takes it slow in his early days back from a torn ACL. The point guard has eight points and 13 assists in 34 total minutes off the bench in two games since his return.

Rubio had 12 points and 12 assists in last season's loss to Miami.

Wade, James carry Heat past Timberwolves, 103-92

By TIM REYNOLDS
Posted Dec 18 2012 11:14PM

MIAMI (AP) The Miami Heat were outrebounded by 28, matching the second-largest margin in team history. They finished with only 24 boards, matching the second-lowest total in any game over the franchise's quarter-century of existence.

Somehow, none of that mattered.

Dwyane Wade scored 24 points, LeBron James added 22 points and 11 assists and the Heat survived a strangely one-sided night on the glass to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 103-92 on Tuesday night - becoming the first team since 1994 to be outrebounded by such a wide margin and still win, according to STATS LLC.

"I don't know how many times I've seen that, where you get doubled up on the rebounding and still escape with the win," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "That's a tough team. They're unique. Relentless on the glass. There's not many teams like them."

The final rebounding margin: Minnesota 52, Miami 24.

Chris Bosh scored 15 points and Mario Chalmers added 12 for the Heat, who gave up 21 of the game's first 24 rebounds.

Andrei Kirilenko scored 22 for Minnesota, which played without guard Ricky Rubio, who's being eased back after recovering from knee surgery. The Timberwolves dropped their second straight. Kevin Love finished with 11 points and 18 rebounds, and Nikola Pekovic had a 18-point, 12-rebound effort for the Timberwolves.

"We were pretty active. What we take away from it is we've got to be more physical," Love said. "I'm not saying we're soft but we definitely need to be more physical. And we are in stretches."

James topped the 20-point mark for the 27th straight regular-season game and 43rd straight overall.

"We're getting better every night," James said.

A 24-9 run in the second half was the deciding blow for Miami, with James leading the way, getting 11 of those points and assisting on three other scores during the spurt. James had a pair of 3-pointers during the run, including one that put Miami up by 10 late in the third, and then he capped it with a three-point play after connecting on a running jumper with 10:26 left.

In eight minutes, what was a 63-62 deficit became an 86-72 Miami lead.

And when James took an alley-oop from Ray Allen for a dunk in transition with 7:36 left, the lead was 16 - then Miami's largest - and the reigning NBA MVP's streak of 20-point games was extended as well. On the next Miami possession, James found Shane Battier for a 3-pointer along the left wing. The lead was 97-78 with 7:09 left, and James walked back to the Heat bench pumping his right fist with satisfied emphasis.

"That's an unbelievable rebounding team," Wade said. "We made up for it with our energy."

That, and 14 blocks, tied for fourth-most in Heat history. Miami blocked 15 shots on three other occasions.

Wade - generously listed at 6-foot-4 - blocked a two-handed dunk try by the 6-10 Love at the rim to spark one second-quarter burst, and also registered a block against the 6-11 Pekovic later in the period.

Wade had a pair of spectacular plays at the rim in the second as well, and he set Chalmers up for a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left in the half to send Miami into the break with a 52-49 edge.

It was the fifth straight time the Heat have beaten the Timberwolves. The last time Minnesota beat Miami was Feb. 23, 2010 - not all that long ago in real time but eons ago in Heat time, considering none of the five players in the starting lineup for that loss were even on last season's championship team, much less on the current roster.

Luke Ridnour scored 13 and JJ Barea added 10 for Minnesota.

"I like the way our guys battled," Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman said. "We just have to respond."

Minnesota's frontcourt of Kirilenko, Love and Pekovic knew it had a size advantage, but what it managed on the glass in the early going was ridiculous. Minnesota's rebounding edge was 13-2 after nine minutes - Love already had seven - and 18-3 after the first quarter.

The Timberwolves had 17 second-chance points in the first quarter alone, after coming into the night averaging 15 per game all season.

NOTES: Miami plays at Dallas on Thursday, which would be just the second road game for the Heat since Nov. 17. It's only a one-game trip, with the Heat back home to face Utah on Saturday and then host Oklahoma City in an NBA Finals rematch on Christmas Day. ... Adelman said before the game that there's no need to rush Rubio back into the lineup, and also lauded Spoelstra - who he's known for years. ... Love had 10 rebounds by the midpoint of the second quarter. No Heat player finished with more than seven rebounds. ... Pekovic had nine offensive boards. Miami, as a team, had six.

Notebook: Heat 102, Timberwolves 92

Zachary Paul, for NBA.com
Posted Tue Dec 18, 2012 11:04 PM - Updated Tue Dec 18, 2012 11:04 PM

THE FACTS: The Miami Heat defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 103-92 Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Despite being out-rebounded, the Heat rallied to victory after closing the first half strong and taking control in the second half behind their 3-point shooting. Guard Dwyane Wade finished with a team-high 24 points while forward LeBron James came close to a triple-double with 22 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds.

Miami trailed by nine in the first half because of the Timberwolves' strong rebounding. Minnesota, which held a 52-24 rebounding edge, had things working in its favor until the Heat regrouped just before halftime.

They outscored the Timberwolves 18-8 in the final five minutes of the second quarter to take a 52-49 lead into halftime.

Minnesota was led by Andrei Kirilenko's 22 points while Nikola Pekovic added 18 points and 12 rebounds.

QUOTABLE: "In the first quarter, I think we had three turnovers the first four minutes and then we did a nice job the rest of the quarter. After that, we didn't really take care of the ball at all."
--Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman said.

THE STAT: The Heat shot 13-of-25 from the 3-point arc.

TURNING POINT: After trailing most of the first half, the Heat went on a 13-3 run midway through the third quarter to take a 75-66 lead.

QUOTABLE II: "That is our identity, to create havoc on who we are playing and try to make them feel uncomfortable."
-- Heat coach Erik Spoelstra on the second-half defense.

HOT: And the beat goes on for Wade. He continued his strong play of late, this time getting the Heat started in the first half. When his teammates struggled, it was Wade who kept them alive with his scoring.

NOT: Despite his strong rebounding game, Kevin Love struggled from the field. He had difficulty scoring against Chris Bosh, with most of his points coming at the free throw line. Love finished 2-of-10 from the field.

GOOD MOVE: With the Heat struggling against the Timberwolves' frontcout, they decided to increase the pace. Miami used its speed to overcome a slow start and took it to another gear in the third quarter. The up tempo game opened up the Heat's 3-point shooting.

BAD MOVE: The Heat had no answer for the Timberwolves' dominance on the boards. Love had the same amount of rebounds (16) as the Heat through three quarters. It was the only way Minnesota was able to keep things close.

NOTABLE: The Timberwolves were without guard Ricky Rubio, who sat the second game of the back-to-back because of a sore knee. ... The Heat improved to 12-2 at home. ... After playing 10 of 11 at home, the Heat play five of the next seven on the road. ... Miami is 11-0 when it enters the fourth quarter with the lead.

UP NEXT: For the Heat, Thursday @ Mavericks, Saturday vs. Jazz, Tuesday vs. Thunder. For the Timberwolves, Thursday vs. Thunder, Sunday @ Knicks, Wednesday vs. Rockets.

• Timberwolves: Budinger, Roy
• Heat: Harrellson, Harris

• Timberwolves: --
• Heat: Haslem

• Lead Changes: 18
• Times Tied: 10

• Arena: American Airlines Arena, Miami, FL
• Officials: #43 Dan Crawford, #65 Sean Wright, #74 Curtis Blair
• Attendance: 19862
• Duration: 2:10