Wade gives the Jazz a severe headache
by Loren Jorgensen Deseret News , Deseret Morning News
"I was going to play," said Wade, who finished with a game-high 23 points despite playing with foul trouble most of the night. "Anything I could do to help my guys, I was going to be out there to try to help us get a win."
The night didn't get off to an auspicious start for Wade. His first shot attempt was a missed dunk.
"I just took my eye off it," said Wade of the dunk attempt gone awry. "(The migraine) didn't have nothing to do with it."
Wade also picked up two quick fouls in the first quarter and had to leave the game, as the Jazz jumped out to a lead of as many as 10 points. But Wade showed off his ability to score in bunches the second quarter, putting eight points on the board in less than seven minutes of action as the Heat rallied to take a two-point halftime lead.
"It seemed like (Wade) wasn't even going to get into rhythm in the first half," said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. "Yet he still was able to score efficiently and was able to score 12 points in the half and was able to control the tempo for us. He was really active defensively. ... His effort was great. He was all over the place."
The Heat put on a block party all game, swatting 11 Jazz shots on the night. But early in the third quarter second-year center Joel Anthony blocked four Utah attempts during a 16-2 run to open the half.
"(Anthony) was big for us in the third," said Wade. "We finally got some separation and most of it came because of his defensive efforts and it pumped everybody else up and gave us opportunities to get some easy buckets. That was probably his best quarter, so far, of the year."
Despite getting up by as many as 16 points in the second half, the Heat had to hold off a fourth-quarter Jazz rally before handing Utah its second consecutive home loss. That tough fourth quarter will only help Miami in the long run, its young coach believes.
"We got introduced, in the fourth quarter, of playoff intensity on the road," said Spoelstra, the 38-year-old in his first year as Miami's head coach. "It was a real gritty win, to gut it out."
Wade, who led Miami to the NBA title in 2006 before the Heat fell on hard times last season, likes the way his new-look team is coming around.
"This young team we have is growing up," said Wade. "The thing we need to do now is do it consistently and keep it going." E-mail: lojo@desnews.com
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