Wade's Jumper Seals Victory At Home Vs Grizzlies
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MIAMI (The Sports Xchange) -- Dwyane Wade had just turned the ball over. His Miami Heat hadn't led since the first quarter, falling behind by as many as 16 points, and Wade was just 5-for-14 from the floor.
Not to worry -- at least not for the Heat and their star shooting guard.
Wade hit the winning jumper with 21.9 seconds left for a 100-97 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Miami scored the game's final 11 points, including Wade's go-ahead shot that bounced in after hitting the front rim and then the backboard before dropping.
"Dwyane is uncanny," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "He can play absolutely horrible stretches and all of sudden get to the last two minutes and have incredible confidence.
"I've (not) seen many players who don't carry something negative that happened before that now affects their aggressiveness. It doesn't faze him one bit."
Miami, which got a team-high 22 points from forward Chris Bosh and 14 from Wade, snapped a season-worst, three-game losing streak. Before their slump, the Heat were in first in the Eastern Conference; now they are tied for fifth.
Memphis (13-12) had its three-game road win streak broken. The Grizzlies got a season and game-high 26 points from forward Jeff Green as well as 13 points and 13 rebounds from forward Matt Barnes.
Miami's rally started in earnest when Barnes fouled shooting guard Gerald Green, who came off a screen to shoot a 3-pointer. Gerald Green, who finished with 16 points, made all three free throws to cut Memphis' lead to 97-94.
After Memphis point guard Mike Conley missed a runner in the lane, Wade split through several defenders for a layup to cut Memphis' lead to 97-96.
"(Bosh) set a great screen," Wade said, "and I was able to take off and finish."
The Grizzlies had an open look on their next possession, but Jeff Green missed a corner 3-pointer, and that set up Wade for his game-winner.
"We had a great chance to win," Memphis coach Dave Joerger said. "We had all kinds of open shots, but we didn't make them. We needed to make one shot in the final 2 1/2 minutes. We didn't."
After Wade's jumper, Memphis played for the final shot. On a pick-and-pop, Bosh deflected Conley's bounce pass, which was intended for center Marc Gasol. Bosh dived for the loose ball, which fell to Miami rookie forward Justise Winslow, who was fouled.
Winslow made two free throws with seven-10th of a second on the clock, and Conley nearly sent the game to overtime, missing a 70-footer off the back rim.
"It was a good game," said Gasol, who had 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists. "It was just a bad result at the end."
The Grizzlies took control with a 17-2 first-quarter run and never trailed again until Wade's jumper.
"We never gave up," said Heat forward Luol Deng, who had 15 points. "It wasn't going smooth. They were making big shots.
"But as the game went on, we kept on believing. I thought we played harder than them in the fourth quarter."
Spoelstra said it was Miami's most frustrating win of the season, and his starting backcourt would not disagree. Aside from Wade's struggles, point guard Goral Dragic missed nine of his first 10 shots and went 3-for-14 from the floor for eight points.
Wade credited his teammates for not letting him get down on himself.
"I tried to make up for it," Wade said of his turnover with two minutes left. "When you get an opportunity in this league, you have to try to capitalize.
"That last (jumper), I hadn't made a shot all night, it felt like. I just pulled up, and I got a friendly role."
NOTES: Heat G Dwyane Wade is two points from tying Eddie Johnson for 47th place on the NBA's career list. ... Grizzlies G Tony Allen injured his knee in warmups and was replaced in the starting lineup by G Courtney Lee, who scored nine points. ... Memphis decided to bring PF Zach Randolph off the bench due to matchup reasons, starting SF Matt Barnes instead. Randolph contributed 12 points and six rebounds. ... The Heat was without G Tyler Johnson (shoulder) and F Josh McRoberts (knee), both for the second game in a row. ... Memphis PG Mario Chalmers, who played seven-plus seasons with Miami and won two NBA titles as a starter, made his debut as an AmericanAirlines Arena visitor, scoring 12 points. Miami saved $6.1 million in luxury tax-money when it traded Chalmers to Memphis on Nov. 11. ... Memphis has six players 30 or older, including C Marc Gasol, Randolph, Barnes and Allen. Memphis backup SG Vince Carter turns 39 next month.