Unfortunately, there's only one more game left on the schedule against the woeful Pacers.
Too bad. Because the Heat could use a lot more nights like the one it enjoyed during Tuesday's 113-83 thrashing of the Pacers at AmericanAirlines Arena.
That's 3-0 against Indiana this season. That's nearly 15 percent of your victories this season against the Pacers. And those three wins have come by a combined margin of 77 points. These certainly aren't Jermaine O'Neal's or Reggie Miller's Indiana Pacers.
And it was right on time for the Heat, which moved to 21-19 and took the first step toward re-establishing some breathing room in what has become a crowded middle-of-the-pack field in the Eastern Conference standings. It was essentially a double victory for the Heat, considering the Raptors lost to the Cavaliers on Tuesday night.
Now, it's on to Charlotte to face the hottest team in the league. Yes, the Bobcats, believe it or not. And, by the way, that's three wins in the past four games for the Heat.
D. WADE'S DOINGS: An 18-point first quarter set the tone for a 32-point night for Wade, who strangely went without a rebound for the second time this season, but did block three shots. Wade was hot from the start and continued a recent surge in scoring that began with that 44-point outburst in the Jan. 6 loss to Boston. Wade was 12 of 20 from the field and made 4 of 6 from three-point range. He's hitting his mid-season stride now. Or, maybe it was just the combination of a hot night against an ice-cold foe. In either case, the Heat will take all it can get from Mr. Wade.
TURNING POINT: There was the national anthem. And then there was a double-digit lead for the Heat. At least that seemed to be the case. This one reached blowout status in a hurry. The Heat led 36-19 at the end of the first quarter, with Wade accounting for 50 percent of the first-quarter production. Again, the Pacers were out of it before they were ever in it. The Heat put this one out of reach in a hurry.
WINNING EDGE: Forget Wade's contribution and Michael Beasley's effort for a second. All you have to do to get a true understanding of how hot the Heat was on this night was to glance at the collective shooting percentage of those at the bottom of the depth chart. Carlos Arroyo, Jamaal Magloire, Daequan Cook and Mario Chalmers were a combined 9 of 11 from the field. It was truly a can't-miss occasion for the home team. Wade was hot. And that set the temperature for everyone else to be at least humid.
HEAD-SCRATCHER: For a moment, it appeared that Pacers coach Jim O'Brien was attempting to make a fashion statement. Then, the details emerged that he banged his foot against something in his room and was too sore to get shoes on his feet. So instead, he rocked a designer suit with a pair of adidas sandals on the bench during the game. My only problem was he insisted on wearing the green dress socks with the sandals. Not good. He probably should have gone with a pair of fluffy house shoes, the kind Dorell Wright rocks in the locker room before changing into his game gear. No wonder the Pacers were never able to get their footing - or any traction - during the game.
KEY CONTRIBUTION: When Michael Beasley gets 20 and 10 and you hardly notice, it says a lot about how smooth Beasley's game is becoming. He's getting almost 20 every night. And he's always right around 6, 7, 8 rebounds a game, too. If I've blogged it once, I've blogged it a thousand times. Wade's words say it all when it comes to Mike. He'll soon be good enough to get 20 and 10 on a bad night. He finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds against the Pacers. The three offensive rebounds might have been his most impressive work on the night. The 2 of 3 shooting on threes wasn't too shabby, either.
UP NEXT: Heat at Bobcats, 7 p.m. Wednesday, Bobcats Arena (Charlotte)
(For live news, notes and updates on the Heat, follow me on Twitter @ twitter.com/wallacesports. To post a question or join our live Heat chat each Thursday from 1-2 p.m., click here.)
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