Staring playoffs elimination in the face and the possibility of playing his last game in Miami, Dwyane Wade exploded for a career playoff-high 46 points to help the Heat to a 101-92 victory over the Boston Celtics on Sunday.
Wade, who becomes a free agent at the end of the season and could be on his way out of Miami, scored 19 of his points in the fourth quarter, including three quick three-pointers, to ensure his team staved off elimination, for another two days anyway.
The victory reduced their deficit in the Eastern Conference best-of-seven series to 3-1 with Game 5 heading back to Boston, though no team has come back from a 3-0 deficit to win in the playoffs.
PHOTO: AFP
“We’re always going to fight,” Wade told reporters after he led the Heat to a 25-8 run to open the fourth quarter. “We fought today and I finally had a good shooting game the way I wanted to.
“I was going to shoot all those shots no matter what happened. I got hot at the right time,” he said.
Rajon Rondo had 23 points and nine assists while Kevin Garnett finished with 18 and 12 rebounds for the Celtics who had previously defeated the Heat in all six meetings this season.
Coming off Paul Pierce’s buzzer-beater shot to deliver the win in Game 3, Boston fell behind by 13 after the first quarter but claimed a six-point advantage after the third before Wade turned the game around with his fourth-quarter performance.
CAVALIERS 121, BULLS 98
In Chicago, LeBron James had 37 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, while Antawn Jamison scored 24 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Chicago Bulls to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round NBA playoff series.
The Cavaliers led by 10 at halftime after scoring 38 in the second quarter and broke it open with a 37-point third, putting them in position to close it out at home today.
James was at it again after scoring 40 and 39 the previous two games, connecting almost whenever he wanted and from wherever he wanted. He was 6 of 9 on 3-pointers, including a jumper from just inside midcourt at the end of the third that made it 99-76.
Chicago got 21 apiece from Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah but the Bulls are on the verge of their second straight first-round exit.
SPURS 92, MAVERICKS 89
In San Antonio, George Hill scored 29 points, helping the Spurs overcome a miserable night from Tim Duncan and take a 3-1 lead over Dallas in its first-round series.
The Spurs have won three straight since coach Gregg Popovich criticized some of his players and they’ve put the second-seeded Mavs on the edge of their third first-round exit in four years.
Dirk Nowitzki and Caron Butler had 17 apiece for Dallas, the NBA’s best road team during the regular season. However, the Mavs couldn’t leave San Antonio with a win and they have to push the series to a Game 6 to earn another shot.
JAZZ 117, NUGGETS 106
In Salt Lake City, Carlos Boozer had 31 points and 13 rebounds, while Deron Williams added 24 points and 13 assists as the Utah Jazz held off a late charge to beat Denver for a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference playoff series.
Carmelo Anthony finished with 39 points and led the Nuggets back within range late in the fourth quarter, but the fourth-seeded Nuggets, now on the verge of elimination, never caught all the way up and lost for the third straight time in the series.
‘AWFUL PERFORMANCE’: Golden State were always chasing the game after failing to threaten from long range, making just eight of 33 three-point attempts Aaron Gordon on Monday scored 38 points as the Denver Nuggets shrugged off the absence of Nikola Jokic to halt the Golden State Warriors’ seven-game winning streak with a 114-105 victory over their Western Conference rivals. A dazzling display from Gordon inspired what was ultimately a comfortable win for Denver, who were missing regular starters Jokic and Jamal Murray from their lineup. The absentees were barely felt by Denver, who startled the Warriors early at San Francisco’s Chase Center and led for most of the game. The Warriors threatened to stage a late rally after slashing the Nuggets’ fourth-quarter lead from 15 points
Barcelona’s Ferran Torres scored twice on Sunday to help secure a late 4-2 comeback win at Atletico Madrid in a pulsating La Liga clash that took the Catalan side back to the top of the table. Barca have 60 points and a game in hand after last week’s postponement of their home game with CA Osasuna. They are level on points with Real Madrid, who won 2-1 at Villarreal on Saturday. “I am happy and proud of this team,” Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick told a news conference. “They never give up... It’s a great three points and we are happy to
Chris Wood has fired Nottingham Forest into surprise UEFA Champions League contention and now the striker wants to score the goals to help New Zealand make history at the FIFA World Cup. New Zealand are strong favorites to qualify out of the Oceania region over the next week and reach the World Cup for only the third time. At the country’s two previous appearances at the finals, in 1982 and 2010, they have failed to win a match in six attempts. With Wood captaining the side and leading from the front, he told local media yesterday that the current squad can finally deliver
Paolo Banchero on Sunday scored 24 points as the Orlando Magic overturned a 13-point deficit to end the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 16-game unbeaten streak with a gutsy 108-103 road victory. Cleveland, the runaway Eastern Conference leaders, had looked poised to extend their franchise-record winning run after surging clear of Orlando early in the third quarter, but after a season where they have staged hefty winning comebacks of their own, the tables turned on Cleveland in the face of a furious burst of Orlando scoring. The Magic outscored Cleveland 35-23 in the third quarter, with Franz Wagner leading the charge with nine points and
RSS