Through the first two games of this Eastern Conference semifinal series, the Miami Heat proved it could beat the Wizards without Shaquille O’Neal at the top of his game.
Thursday it outdid itself. It proved it could beat Washington without Shaq. Period.
With its ailing center opting for a night off, the Heat turned it on in the third quarter and moved to a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series with a 102-95 victory.
“To go out there without the big guy and then to battle . . . that’s a big thing,” coach Stan Van Gundy said. “I was very, very proud of them.”
The Heat can close out the series in Saturday’s Game 4 back at the MCI Center. About the only remaining way to level the court might be to have guard Dwyane Wade sit out as well.
With Wade scoring 31 points and adding nine rebounds and six assists, the Heat extended its winning streak against the Wizards to 11. It moved closer to its second consecutive series sweep by extending its franchise-record postseason winning streak to seven.
“Fabulous,” was Van Gundy’s summation of Wade.
Furious was more the case at halftime, when Wade was 5 of 12 from the field with six turnovers.
“He came in here quiet, and that’s not Dwyane,” forward Eddie Jones said.
O’Neal, still bothered by bruised thighs, apparently made a calculated decision that he could sit against the Wizards without having to squirm.
That wasn’t the case over the first two periods, with Washington moving to a 51-49 halftime lead.
But once Wade stopped forcing the play and instead began dictating it, the Heat surged to a 22-5 third-quarter blitz as a 60-52 deficit turned into a 74-65 lead. The lead crested at 13 early in the fourth quarter.
Washington moved within 87-84 on a three-pointer from guard Juan Dixon and later within 98-95 on a drive by guard Gilbert Arenas. The first time, Heat point guard Damon Jones responded with two timely jumpers and the second time power forward Udonis Haslem did the same.
No team in NBA history has recovered from an 0-3 deficit to win a best-of-seven series.
“We played as hard as we could,” Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said.
