Heat vs. Bulls: D-Wade's Game-Winning Three in 2OT Caps 'Game for the Ages'

I said "Wow!" after the last unbelievable performance I wrote about concerning D-Wade. That was in my recap of the Miami win over the New York Knicks, which you can read here Krypto-Nate vs. Flash: Dwyane Wade’s 4th-Quarter Heroics Rally Miami Heat.

However, I don’t have enough superlatives to describe the awe and wonder Dwyane Tyrone Wade, Jr. elicited among Miami Heat fans, me included, with his performance last night.

I’ll try, though. Outrageous! Incredible! Unbelievable! Stupendous! Heroic! Amazing! Extraordinary! Staggering! Mind-Blowing! Remarkable! Astonishing! Tremendous! Phenomenal! or as the NBA puts it, Fan-Tastic!

A note to readers: Find a highlight show—soon.

As Wade himself described it, this was a game for the ages. He of course was talking about the game itself, I’m talking about the game he PLAYED.

And what makes it more unbelievable, or whatever you want to call it, is that he did it following the weeks he’s had of late. Frankly, the Miami Heat fans have already gotten their money’s worth over the last few weeks.

Dwyane Wade was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the first week in March (March 2 through March 8), and the Eastern Conference Player of the Month for February. He’s been on a rampage NBA fans haven’t seen since the days Jordan was in his prime.

Last week, to win the Player of the Week, Wade averaged 35.9 PPG, 11.3 APG, and 3.25 SPG. His scoring led the NBA over that span, and his assists and steals averages led the Eastern Conference; this from a shooting guard.

However, he didn’t feel that was enough. No, he decided again last night to show everyone why there should most definitely be a third name added to Kobe Bryant and LeBron James’ names whenever a discussion of the leagues’ MVP comes up. In fact, he may have shown them why his name should top the list.

In a thrilling display of courage, tenacity, and sheer out-and-out grit, Dwyane Wade almost single-handedly beat back the Chicago Bulls last night to grasp victory with clenched fists, shouting to the crowd and the heaven’s that America Airlines Arena was ‘His House’ as the Miami Heat defeated the Chicago Bulls 130-127 in double overtime.

The game began like many others the Heat have played of late, with the Bulls jumping out to an 11-1 lead within the first three minutes of the game. The Heat’s poor play in those opening minutes had once again caused Heat head coach Eric Spoelstra to call a timeout early, at the 9:16 mark with the score 9-1.

Following that timeout, Miami still looked unsettled, as Wade threw a bad pass that was intercepted by Gordon who drove and was fouled by Haslem. Gordon sank both free throws, and the Heat trailed 11-1. However, unlike in games past, the Heat quickly got back in the game, as Mario Chalmers, Jermaine O’Neal, and Jamario Moon all scored over the next three minutes (Chalmers with five points) while limiting the Bulls to just one Ben Gordon jumper, making it 13-10.

Wade made his first shot of the game at the 3:31 mark, to give him three points for the game (he’d made 1-of-2 from the charity stripe in the opening moments), and finished the quarter with five points after dunking the ball as the Heat kept pace with the Bulls to close the quarter down only four, 26-22.

He was just heating up though. In the second quarter, Miami thoroughly outplayed the Bulls, scoring 30 points to Chicago’s 22 as Wade scored 12 of his 48 points in the quarter. He was aided by production from Beasley and Chalmers, who both scored seven points in the second period.

However, it was Wade’s bomb from nearly midcourt to end the period and give the Heat a 54-52 lead at halftime that had the crowd electrified. They were excited for sure, but I doubt many of them could truly imagine the show Wade still had left to put on for them.

Dwyane scored another 15 points in the third quarter, at one point helping the Heat to a 14 point lead over the Bulls at 84-70. Chicago at this point couldn’t match Wade’s production, as he finished the period with 32 points.

The Bulls did have significant contributions from three of their starters though, with Ben Gordon having 18 points through three, and Derrick Rose and John Salmons each pouring in 17.

A coaching decision near the end of the quarter, with 50 seconds left, nearly cost the Heat the game though. Spoelstra decided at that point to substitute Dwyane Wade for Heat point guard Mario Chalmers who already had two fouls (Wade had zero and finished the game that way).

Why Spoelstra did this is beyond me, and I was immediately screaming and pulling my hair out wondering what he could be thinking. My premonition of disaster proved correct with just nine seconds left in the quarter, as Chalmers fouled Rose, giving Mario 3 fouls entering the fourth and crucial period.

This mistake would come back to haunt the Heat in the first overtime as Mario drew his sixth foul just two minutes into the extra session. This would limit Spoelstra’s options in substituting players down the stretch, and quite frankly nearly cost Miami the game.

Spoelstra can thank his lucky stars he has Dwyane Wade playing for him. Not many people could overcome the bad coaching of Eric from last night. D-Wade is one of them, however.

While his scoring in the 4th dropped, he still poured in 10 points to finish regulation with 42. However, Gordon scored 18 of his 43 in the fourth, forcing Wade to once again come up with a three-pointer to tie the game with 11.5 seconds remaining and send it into overtime, 117-117 when Chicago failed to score; delighting the crowd with his heroics.In the first overtime, Wade’s scoring was non-existent, while Gordon and Salmons each added 7 more to their totals during the extra period.

Dwyane also missed a golden opportunity to end it before it could go into double overtime when he missed two free throws with 17 seconds left (allowing Salmons to sink two to tie the game), and a reverse layup at the buzzer.

However, he would redeem himself before the night was over.

The second overtime saw Miami take a five point lead midway through on a Beasley and-one free throw 124-119. The Bulls though, would not go quietly into that goodnight.

Derrick Rose drove for a layup, and after Wade had missed another free throw after being fouled by Kirk Hinrich, Gordon drew Jamario Moon’s fifth foul to send himself to the charity stripe. Sinking both, he and the Bulls then preceded to tie the game on a Tyrus Thomas putback 125-125 with just a minute left in the second overtime.

Wade then knifed through the Bulls defense for a driving layup, giving him 45 points for the night, and putting the Heat ahead 127-125. Again, however, the Bulls stubbornly refused to die as Salmons sank a jumper with 37 seconds left, tying the game once more at 127-127.

This set up the final sequence of the game, and there’s never been a more thrilling ending to any game I’ve ever witnessed.

Miami’s starting power forward, Udonis Haslem received the ball with 15 seconds left, and launched a jumper toward the rim. The Miami crowd was ready to burst into cheers, but were sorely disappointed as the shot was off, and was rebounded by the Bulls rookie sensation point guard, Derrick Rose.

The Bulls immediately called timeout to set up a play, substituting Kirk Hinrich for Tyrus Thomas in order to get another shooter in the game for what would be an attempt at the game-winning shot.

When the Bulls threw the ball in, John Salmons took possession and dribbled to the top of the key in an iso. He then tried to drive to the right, with Miami's Udonis Haslem right there with him, and then looked to spin to the left away from Haslem.

His mistake?

Dwyane Wade had anticipated this move, and had left his man, Derrick Rose to try for a steal. He was successful, snatching the ball from Salmons as the clock wound down.

Racing toward the other basket, Wade knew that he had little time. During the timeout the Bulls had called, Eric Spoelstra had counseled his team that if they stole the ball, to remember the Heat did have one timeout left.

As Dwyane Wade tells it of those few seconds:

“When I got the steal what was going through my head was coach said, ‘we’ve got a timeout left. I was about to call it and then said, ‘nah’.”

Instead, he launched up a desperate heave from beyond the arc with just a fraction of a second remaining before the buzzer. The crowd was mesmerized, waiting to see if the game would finally end or if there would be a third overtime. The third overtime would not be necessary, as Wade’s shot swished through the basket to the roar of the fans.

The Miami Heat had beaten the Chicago Bulls, and all was right with the world.Dwyane Wade had capped off a spectacular nine games with probably his most brilliant performance yet (48 PTS, 6 REB, 12 AST, 4 STL, and 3 BLK, shooting 15-21 from the field, 5-6 from downtown, and 13-18 from the free-throw line). Over his past nine games, D-Wade has averaged 37.7 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 10.7 APG, 2.8 SPG, 1.2 BPG.

Even more mind-boggling? His averages for the past five games: 38.2 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 11.2 APG, 3.4 SPG, 1.2 BPG

The American Airlines Arena crowd had just seen one of the most stellar performances they would ever witness. Wade had battled three monster scoring nights from Chicago Bulls players and had come out ahead.

Ben Gordon ended the night with 43 points on 14-of-23 shooting, including 8-of-11 from three-point land; scoring 25 of his 43 in the fourth quarter and overtimes. His teammates, John Salmons and Derrick Rose also poured it on in the game, scoring 29 and 23, respectively.

When questioned about his battle with Wade, and how the game had played out, Gordon said, “Basically, that’s how the game was going to end—who had the ball last. Whoever made the last play was going to win the game and D-Wade made a spectacular play. He willed his team to win.”

Wade got significant help from four Heat players, with Beasley scoring 18 points to go with seven rebounds, Mario Chalmers scoring 17 points before he fouled out to go with five assists, Udonis Haslem nearly having a double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds, and Jamario Moon scoring 13 points, some of them crucial in the overtimes.

However, whatever production they gave the Heat, none of it would have mattered if it weren’t for Wade. His two buzzer-beating three-pointers (one to end the first half and the other to end the game), along with his three-pointer with 11.5 seconds remaining in regulation to tie it and send it into overtime, were the punctuation mark to a game, as he called it, “for the ages.”

Immediately after he’d hit the winning shot, Wade ran to the table opposite the Heat’s bench. Jumping atop it, and standing over the man who signs his checks, Heat Owner Mickey Arison, he thumped his hands to his chest and shouted to the cheering crowd, “This is My House! This is My House!”

Nothing he’s ever said could be truer.

After the game, Coach Eric Spoelstra said of Wade’s heroic performance, “It’s truly amazing. He ended up with a defensive play like that, a steal off somebody else’s man and then makes the three at the buzzer.”

He also added, “He’s sensational. He has an incredible determination to get open. He never seems to fatigue. He was about on fire as much as I’ve seen anybody in this building.”

When asked if Wade’s performance has vaulted him into the spotlight for the MVP race, coach Spoelstra said:

“That Mr. Dwyane Tyrone Wade, Jr., if he’s not legitimately considered for an MVP candidate, I don’t know what he needs to do. We are currently a playoff contender and night after night, he’s making incredible plays like this.”

Spoelstra finished by saying, “We’re hoping we can build on this and have this incredible sense of urgency going down the stretch.”

Dwyane Wade was interviewed after the game as well, and when questioned about jumping on the table and screaming to the crowd he laughed and said, “I always wanted to stand on the table anyways”

Asked about the game-winning shot, Wade said, “You never know until it goes in, but I was 99.9 percent sure it was cash. I knew it beat the clock.”

However, even with the elation of the game-winning shot and win still pumping through his veins, the humble Heat superstar still found time to criticize himself and explain what motivated him in the second overtime.

As he tells it, he was mulling over the layup he’d missed at the end of the first overtime, and was thinking:

“Probably the easiest game-winner I ever had in my life, and I missed it. I couldn’t believe it. I had to find a way to get it back.”

Wade’s teammate, Michael Beasley was supremely gratified Wade was motivated enough to end it when he did, saying, “I didn’t want to go into a third overtime.”

Neither did anyone else other than the Bulls and their fans, Michael. Thankfully Wade put an end to the night with his running floater of a buzzer-beating, game-winning three-pointer and capped a “Game for the Ages.”

Just a note: D-Wade scored 48 points with 12 assists, six boards, four steals and three blocks, while making 15-of-21 shots. According to Elias Sports Bureau, only one other player in NBA history has scored that many points and had that many assists in a game, while having as high a field goal percentage. That man? Wilt Chamberlain. Maybe you've heard of him.