Posted on February 28, 2019, by Travis Pulver
Miami Heat superstar Dwyane Wade is not the player he once was. He is not going to be someone you can count on for 20 points a night. But, as the Golden State Warriors found out Wednesday night, he is someone you can still count on to hit a clutch shot with the game on the line.
With less than a second on the clock and behind by two points, Wade hit a one-legged, off the glass shot from three-point range to give the Heat a 126-125 win over the Warriors.
“I’ve been in this position so many times and so many times you don’t make the shot,” Wade said after the game (ESPN). “And the one I make is a one-legged flick from my chest. It’s crazy. Great to do it in front of fans.”
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The game started off well for the Heat as they got out to a ten-point lead after the first quarter, 32-22. Golden State started to find its shot in the second quarter, but they couldn’t find their defense. They scored 37 but the heat scored 42. So, at the half, Miami was up, 74-59.
Things got worse before they got better for Golden State in the second half. Miami managed to stretch the lead out to 22 early in the third. However, by time the end of the quarter rolled around, the Warriors cut the deficit down to nine, 100-92.
Golden State stayed right on Miami’s heels heading into the fourth quarter and took the lead with roughly a minute left to play. After a pair of Jordan Bell free throws made the score 124-120 with 18.1 seconds left, the game looked finished.
The Heat were not quite done, though. Wade followed Bell’s free throws with three-pointer with 15.4 seconds to play. Kevin Durant followed with a free throw to put the Warriors up by two and set the stage for Wade’s buzzer-beating bank shot.
“Dwyane just hit an unbelievable shot,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after the game. “It was going in as soon as it left his hand.”
Wade finished the game with 25 points, but it was Goran Dragic who led the team in scoring with 27, 20 of which came during the second quarter. Josh Richardson led the starters with 21 points.
For Golden State, it was the ‘Big Three’ and not much else. Klay Thompson led the way with 36 points after going 14-23 from the floor including seven of 15 from three-point range. Kevin Durant chipped in 29 and Steph Curry had 24.
The win keeps Miami in the hunt for the No 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. They are going to have another tough one on their hands Thursday night, though, when they travel to Houston to take on the Rockets.
Golden State, who has been alternating wins and losses for the last five games will try to get back to their wining ways when they take on the Magic in Orlando Thursday night.