Thunder vs. Heat Preview
Miami, FL (AP) – In the midst of Miami’s stunning five-game losing streak earlier this month, Dwyane Wade said the Heat couldn’t get too down.
Coming off a second straight emphatic win, Wade is preaching a similar tune, saying they can’t get too high.
Wade and the Heat look to maintain their focus Wednesday night, with a chance to beat one of the Western Conference’s top teams for the third time in a week as they try to cool off the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder.
According to NBA odds and oddsmakers from online sports book SBGGLOBAL.com have made the Heat 6.5-point spread favorites for Wednesday’s game against the Thunder. Current NBA Public Betting Information shows that 51% of more than 210 bets for this game have been placed on the Heat –6.5.
Miami (46-21) was being strongly criticized during its slump but did its best to avoid the negativity. The Heat ended their skid with Thursday’s 94-88 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, and are suddenly playing with a renewed confidence.
After beating Memphis 118-85 on Saturday, Miami avenged a 30-point March 4 loss at San Antonio with Monday’s 110-80 win over the league-best Spurs. This marks just the second time in franchise history the Heat won consecutive games by 30 points or more, the other in 1996.
“I’m sure some people now will start to jump slowly on the bandwagon,” coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Chris Bosh led the way Monday with 30 points and 12 rebounds, while Wade scored 29 and LeBron James finished with 21 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
“I personally hope we don’t care as a team about the noise on the outside,” Wade said. “We have to learn how to not worry about it either way. At one point, the Miami Heat was great. At one point, the Miami Heat wasn’t. And as I continue to keep saying, we can never get too high or too low.
“And now going into the stretch, knowing what works … we’ve got to keep it up and keep that energy and effort up, first and foremost.”
This is especially true with another formidable opponent standing in their way.
The Northwest Division-leading Thunder (42-23) arrive in Miami coming off Monday’s 116-89 win over Washington, their seventh victory in eight games. Kevin Durant had 32 points, Russell Westbrook added 18 with 12 assists and possibly most importantly, Kendrick Perkins made his Oklahoma City debut.
Perkins, considered one of the best low-post defenders in the league, had missed nine games following his acquisition from Boston because of a sprained left knee. The 6-foot-10 center finished with six points and nine rebounds in 20 minutes Monday.
“I felt good,” he said. “A little rusty in some spots, but it felt good to be out there contributing in a positive way.”
Perkins and his teammates now have the difficult task of trying to slow down Bosh, who has been instrumental to Miami’s turnaround.
After vowing to be more assertive in the post, Bosh is averaging 24.0 points on 61.4 percent shooting and 10.3 rebounds in the last three games. The six-time All-Star was averaging 14.6 points on 38.3 percent shooting and 8.1 boards in his previous seven.
Wade also has stepped up his game, combining for 57 points in two games since winning a lengthy custody fight for his two sons.
“A lot of good things are happening,” he said.
Wade led the way in Miami’s first game of the season against the Thunder, a 108-103 victory Jan. 30, scoring 32 points while Bosh added 20 and James had 23 with 13 rebounds.
Durant scored 33 in that loss – he’s averaging a league-high 28.0 – and has topped the 30-point mark in each of his last four games against the Heat. The Thunder are 20-5 this season when he scores at least 30, including 9-1 on the road.
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