By MATT BECKER, STATS Writer
Led by superstar Dwyane Wade, the Miami Heat are starting to resemble last
season's championship team.
Wade looks to lead the Heat to a season-high three straight wins as they
face the Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center on Wednesday.
Miami (11-13) has gotten off to a slow start in defending its title with
13-time All-Star Shaquille O'Neal missing 20 games following knee surgery.
Wade has been shouldering the offensive load without O'Neal, and led the
Heat to a 101-99 win over New Orleans on Monday.
Playing his second game after missing two contests last week following oral
surgery, Wade scored 13 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, including a
fadeaway shot with 1.3 seconds left.
"It all came at the right time," said Wade, who also had nine rebounds,
five assists and four steals. "We needed this win and I needed that shot."
Wade had a season-high 41 points against Memphis on Saturday in his first
game back, and is averaging 32.2 points and shooting 52.5 percent in his last
six games.
Meanwhile, Miami's defense is also playing better.
The Heat trailed 97-88 with 6:02 left in the fourth quarter, but held the
Hornets to only two points after that as New Orleans missed eight consecutive
shots from the floor during one stretch.
"It was great down the stretch. That was the kind of defense we played last
year that really made us champions," Wade said. "When it was time to shut down
and lock up we did that. We did a great job with team defense."
Alonzo Mourning has been starting for the injured O'Neal and blocked seven
shots on Monday. Mourning also had 11 points and nine rebounds, and is averaging
14.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in his last four games.
Udonis Haslem made 7-of-12 shots for 16 points against New Orleans after
scoring just nine points on 3-of-13 shooting in his previous two games combined.
Wade averaged 24.3 points and 7.8 assists against the Bucks (10-14) last
season, as the Heat won three of four.
Miami shot a season-high 61.6 percent in its 115-89 rout over Milwaukee on
April 4 of last season, and outscored the Bucks by an average of 18.0 points in
its victories. The Heat have won eight of their last nine against them.
Milwaukee defeated Minnesota 108-104 on Saturday for its fourth straight
home win.
With the Bucks leading 103-102, Charlie Bell stole a bad pass and converted
a 3-point play with 33 seconds remaining to seal the victory.
"I kind of faked like I wasn't paying attention, and looked to the guy
under the basket," Bell said. "And it came right to me.
"Once I got the steal, I just put on the afterburners and just took off."
Milwaukee shot 50.6 percent on Saturday, and is shooting 49.7 percent during
its home win streak.
Michael Redd had 28 points against the Timberwolves, and his 28.1-point
average is seventh-best in the league. However, Redd shot just 39.1 percent and
averaged 21.0 points against Miami last season, his second lowest against any
opponent last season.
Mo Williams also scored 28 points on Monday, and is averaging 21.6 points
and shooting 55.3 percent in his last five games after averaging 14.7 points
while shooting 41.7 percent in his first 18 games.
Updated on Tuesday, Dec 19, 2006 8:31 pm, EST
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