Wade gets 30, Heat pull away from Nets 110-99
MIAMI (AP) Dwyane Wade found out before the game he would be without his point guard, then was worried in the first quarter about the pain shooting through his left hand and wrist.
Neither situation slowed him down - and the Brooklyn Nets never do.
Wade scored 30 points on 14-for-19 shooting, Hassan Whiteside added a career-high 27 points off the bench and the Miami Heat clamped down defensively in the second half to beat the Nets 110-99 on Monday night.
''We all had to breathe collectively today, without our point guard, without somebody who puts pressure around the rim and attacks,'' said Wade, who jammed his wrist early but had no ill effects the rest of the way. ''I took it upon myself to be that one to attack tonight.''
That's usually the case when he faces the Nets. In his last seven games against Brooklyn, Wade is averaging 27.1 points. He's never scored fewer than 20 against Brooklyn in a regular-season game; the then-New Jersey Nets held him to 13 in what was a 30-point Heat win in March 2012, a game Wade left early with an injury.
''Dwyane Wade. He's like wine,'' Nets interim coach Tony Brown said. ''He gets better with age. He was great, he attacked us all night.''
Josh Richardson scored 16 points, starting at point guard in place of the ill Goran Dragic, and Justise Winslow added 13 for Miami. The Heat allowed Brooklyn to shoot 61 percent in the first half, then held the Nets to 46 percent after intermission to ensure that Joe Johnson's first game against his former team would be a winning one.
''In the second half, you could see our intensity level, physicality, aggressiveness defensively was much, much better,'' Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. ''That's hopefully something we can build on.''
Brook Lopez scored 26 points for Brooklyn, which had its streak of seven straight games with 100 or more points - the team's longest in two years - come to an end. Thaddeus Young made his first 10 shots and scored 20 for the Nets, who got 14 from Sean Kilpatrick.
''It was tough once D-Wade got going,'' Lopez said. ''We had to focus a lot on him. He definitely controlled the game, controlled the tempo. Obviously, he's integral to what they do. He made a lot of tough baskets, vintage D-Wade stuff.''
TIP-INS
Nets: Brooklyn's two-game winning streak was snapped. The Nets haven't had a three-game streak yet this season. ... Young's best game without a miss in his NBA career remains a 6-for-6 effort for Philadelphia against Milwaukee on Jan. 27. 2010. ... Lopez has faced the Heat 21 times; his teams are 3-18 in those games. But he's scored 90 points in his last four against Miami.
Heat: Miami has won the season series with the Nets seven times in the last eight seasons. The Heat went 3-1 against Brooklyn this season. ... Rapper and Heat fan Flo Rida performed a concert for fans immediately following the game, on a new plaza on the arena's east side. ... Chris Bosh, who has now missed 20 games since a blood clot was detected in his leg and prompted him to resume a regimen of taking blood thinners, was on the Heat bench.
JOHNSON'S WINS
Johnson shot just 1 for 8 and finished with two points and seven assists. He was bought out by the Nets last month and signed with Miami after clearing waivers, helping the Heat playoff push since. The Heat are 11-4 since Johnson signed with Miami; Brooklyn was 15-42 with him in the lineup this season. ''I just wanted to go somewhere to have a chance with a contender and do what was best for me and my family,'' Johnson said.
LARKIN RETURNS
It's still a big deal for Nets point guard Shane Larkin to return to Miami, after being a college star for the Miami Hurricanes. Larkin has been on three teams in his three NBA seasons, and could choose to be a free agent again this summer. He's started each of Brooklyn's last three games. ''He obviously keeps our pace up. His speed and quickness in the open court has been a very good lift for us since he was starting,'' Brown said.
UP NEXT
Nets: Visit Orlando on Tuesday.
Heat: Visit the L.A. Lakers on Wednesday
