LeBron James, Dwyane Wade star as Miami Heat shake off early jitters to rout New Orleans Hornets: NBA
Miami Heat don’t always start the game with a bang and on Monday night, not only were they playing their 3rd game in four nights, they were also coming off a last second thriller against the Chicago Bulls.
The fatigue seemed to have taken a toll on the Heat and playing at home, they were staring at a 12 point hole midway through the second quarter.
But then, they started running and when the Heat do that, even the best of the teams in the league start struggling, let alone the New Orleans Hornets, who came into the game with 16 losses in 18 games. Miami, keyed by Dwyane Wade, ripped off a 27-4 spurt, bridging the second and the first two minutes of the third quarter, to take control of the game and after that the Hornets just couldn’t match the intensity and eventually lost the game 109-95.
Wade scored 16 points in that run and finished the night with 22 points. The performance after a sub standard outing against the Bulls and the Heat coach, Erik Spoelstra, was quick to praise his shooting guard;
"Dwyane really set the tone from that point. I was very encouraged by that. We were able to get a lot of opportunities of our defense."
LeBron James, who won the 4th ‘Eastern Conference Player of the Week’ award in five weeks on the night, ended the game with figures of 22 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists. But on the night, it was about the whole Miami team. Four other players also scored in double figures led by Mike Miller’s 14 off the relief. Chris Bosh and rookie Norris Cole had 12 apiece while Mario Chalmers managed 11 for Miami, who outscored the Hornets 60-39 in the second and third quarters.
The Hornets were led by Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry, who scored 14 each. Emeka Okafor scored 13 points and Greivis Vasquez added 11 for the Hornets, who were thrashed 25-4 on the fast break points.
The Hornets started off with an 8-2 run and after the Heat pulled within 27-29 going into the second, they pulled off a 16-6 to open up a 45-33 lead. However, they lost their way and by the end of the third quarter, they were out of the game at 87-68.
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