MIAMI, (Reuters) – Miami’s ‘Big Three’ took turns powering the Heat to their second win over the New Jersey Nets in a week with a 101-89 victory on Saturday.
Dwyane Wade was spectacular in the first half, LeBron James seized control in the third quarter and Chris Bosh carried the team through the fourth.
“Tonight was another one of those games we showed the excitement of playing with one another,” Wade said.
Wade’s 23 first-half points paced the Heat to a narrow 55-51 lead and the Heat tightened their defence to limit the Nets to 17 points in the third quarter. James had 14 points for Miami in the quarter as they opened a 19-point lead at 87-68.
“(The) guys played very hard tonight,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Without even looking at the scoreboard, you could just tell we were making an impact. Guys were really playing with athleticism and speed.”
Wade finished with 29 points and 10 rebounds, James scored 23 points and Bosh added a season high 21.
Anthony Morrow was the top scorer for New Jersey with 25 points, well above his season average of 7.6 per game.
“They just caught me on the wrong night,” Bosh said. “I just have to be the same player I’ve always been, and stop worrying. I’ve kind of just been on my heels for the first part of this season. I just have to be aggressive.”
The Nets have lost their last four games after starting the season with two wins.
“We’re a team right now that’s playing maybe a quarter at a time pretty good,” Nets coach Avery Johnson said.
“We’re not playing long enough stretches out of a 48-minute period yet to start playing good basketball, but we’ll get there.”
