PHILADELPHIA - With the NBA's trade deadline now within hours, this could prove to be one of the last games the Heat plays with its current roster. If that's the case, Miami might be going out with its biggest bang of the season.
With Tuesday's 105-78 victory over the lifeless Sixers, the Heat is now in position to hit Thursday's 3 p.m. trade deadline on a season-long, four-game winning streak. All that stands between the Heat and its longest sustained success of the season are the lowly New Jersey Nets on Wednesday.
But don't take that game for granted. The Nets beat the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday for the second time this season. Yes, the same Charlotte Bobcats who are 2-0 against the Heat this season. And it also took a desperation three-pointer at the buzzer from Dwyane Wade to squeeze out a 81-80 victory over New Jersey in Miami back in November.
"This can't be a trap game for us," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of facing the Nets on the second night of a back-to-back set, with the Heat just 3-8 under those circumstances. "We can't afford it. We've got too much at stake. That game means a whole lot more to us."
At least it should. With the way the Heat is playing lately, it seems to be highly motivated to avoid a letdown. Trade deadline or no trade deadline.
D. WADE'S DOINGS: There was the air ball he shot in the first half amid a 1-of-5 start from the field. And then there was the rest of the night for Wade, who closed with 24 points, six assists and six rebounds in 28 minutes. Wade followed through on his teammates-sanctioned punishment by running a semi-sprint up and down the court after the game for that shooting blemish. Other than that, it was another light night of work for Wade, with his supporting cast doing its job and the overall defense operating at a high level.
TURNING POINT: The Heat began to pull away in the second quarter. But it became a blowout in the third, when Miami used a 21-1 run to stretch its lead beyond 30 points. It was an all-around effort during those decisive two quarters. Jermaine O'Neal scored 8 of his 20 in the second quarter. Wade and Michael Beasley combined for 25 in the third quarter.
WINNING EDGE: When an opponent shoots just 37 percent from the field, it's more than good defense that did the job. The Heat also caught a Sixers' team that couldn't dunk, struggled to make uncontested layups and had no chance of knocking down jumpers of any distance.
HEAD-SCRATCHER: Perhaps Daequan Cook, Mario Chalmers or James Jones might be playing their final games for the Heat. Maybe not. But consider this from the files of "Things that Make You Say, Hmm." Word out of San Antonio is that the Spurs might make guard Roger Mason available in a trade. Mason hasn't demanded to be moved, but he's certainly not thrilled to be an afterthought of sorts in a perimeter rotation where the commitment seems to be to Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Richard Jefferson, Michael Finley and George Hill. The reason this might be of interest to the Heat is that Pat Riley went hard after Mason during free agency two years ago and loves his combination of shooting, scoring, defense and ball-handling. The Heat ended up with James Jones and Yakhouba Diawara. But if Mason is made available, it would be the kind of subtle move the Heat would make amid a failed bid at any of its more high-profile targets.
KEY CONTRIBUTION: Jermaine O'Neal continued his streak of double-figure scoring games with a 20-point, 6-rebound effort. O'Neal has been on a roll recently. He was 10 of 15 from the field and was defensively active around the basket. A few other contributions were notable, especially the 10 points and 10 rebounds from Quentin Richardson, who had been invisible the past few weeks. Daequan Cook's 4-of-8 effort from the field was encouraging as he continues to try to emerge from his season-long slump. And Haslem had 13 points and 9 rebounds.
NEXT UP: Heat at New Jersey Nets, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday - IZOD Center
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