In Wednesday night’s matchup against the Utah Jazz, the Miami Heat used its 11th different starting lineup in 26 games. Chris Bosh remained sidelined with a calf strain for the third straight outing, while Josh McRoberts awaits upcoming surgery to a torn meniscus that could keep him out for the remainder of the season. Miami looked for that much-needed win against the Jazz, who had only won two games on the road coming into Wednesday’s battle at American Airlines Arena.
Three-time champion Dwyane Wade came out gunning, as he knew momentum needed to shift to his team to end a seven-out-of-eight game skid at home. Wade dazzled with his best offensive performance since December 29, 2010 – when he tallied 45 points – by finishing with 42 points on 12-19 shooting in 34 minutes of action.
Check out the highlights of his season-high performance:
However, Wade’s big night wasn’t enough to overcome the Jazz on Wednesday night. In fact, when Wade checked out of the game for the night, his 42 points matched his teammates’ total of points at the time. After the game, Wade said the following about his performance:
“Individually, you take positives out of it,” Wade said. “But as a team, we’ve just got to be better.”
The Jazz caught fire at the three-point line and stayed hot from downtown throughout the night, shooting 56 percent beyond the arc. Despite Wade’s offensive explosion, the Heat fell to the Jazz 105-87, which marked their fourth straight loss at home by double-digits for the first time since 1990, causing Wade to comment on the Heat’s performance at home this season:
“You really want to win at home, you want to play well at home and I feel like we’ve played better on the road this year than we’ve played at home,” said Wade, whose team is 4-8 at home this season. “I don’t know the reason for it all.”
The Heat will have a chance to bounce back on their home-court Friday, but the matchup will be a challenge as they face the Southeast Division leaders, the 18-6 Washington Wizards.
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