Wade's Knee Could Sideline Him For Second Straight Game
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MIAMI (SportsDirect Inc.) -- All-Star guard Dwyane Wade will undergo an MRI exam on his ailing left knee Saturday and could miss his second straight game when the Miami Heat host the Washington Wizards.
Wade was scratched about an hour prior to Friday's 115-111 road victory over the Atlanta Hawks and joined All-Star forward Chris Bosh (blood clot in his left calf) on the sidelines.
Wade began experiencing soreness in the back of the knee near the end of Wednesday's practice and became concerned when treatments and rest didn't erase the pain.
"I gave it a couple days to see if it would go away," Wade told reporters. "It didn't, so I just want to go back and get another second opinion. But it's nothing I'm overly concerned about. It's just some soreness I haven't felt in a while so I just want to make sure everything's good."
Washington posted a 98-86 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Friday to hold an opponent to fewer than 90 points for the second consecutive night.
The Wizards are concluding the only three games in three nights' stretch of the NBA season because of Thursday's victory over Utah being a rescheduled game from a January weather postponement.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, CSN Mid-Atlantic Plus (Washington), FSN Sun (Miami)
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (25-28): Forward Markieff Morris, acquired from the Phoenix Suns prior to Thursday's trading deadline, was cleared to play by the NBA about one hour before Friday's tip and scored six points in 22 minutes. Morris has taken a reputation hit because of his stormy season and attitude issues in Phoenix but former Suns' teammates Marcin Gortat and Jared Dudley heaped praised on him, allowing Morris to feel welcome upon his arrival. "It's just guys that actually know me, and not on the outside looking in," Morris told reporters. "Getting compliments from those guys means a lot."
ABOUT THE HEAT (30-24): Losing Wade for any length of time would be a blow for a squad that has lost Bosh indefinitely. Veteran small forward Luol Deng stepped up against the Hawks with a season-high 30 points while reserve forward Josh McRoberts also put forth a strong showing with season highs of 19 points and 10 assists. "We knew we were missing those guys," Deng told reporters. "We knew we had to come out with a lot of energy. Throughout the whole game we did a good job of keeping the pace up."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Wizards are 2-1 against the Heat this season, including a 114-103 victory in Miami on Dec. 7.
2. Miami C Hassan Whiteside will be back after serving a one-game suspension for elbowing San Antonio C Boban Marjanovic on Feb. 9.
3. Washington PG John Wall had 22 points against Detroit and is averaging 23.4 points and 10.9 assists over the past seven games.
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