The Miami Heat got the usual production from their superstar guard, Dwyane Wade, as he poured in 32 points on 9-of-19 shooting from the field (14-of-19 from the FT-line) to go along with his three rebounds, four assists, three steals, and a blocked shot in 34:56 minutes of play.
His stellar production was obviously key to the Heat beating the Indiana Pacers for the first time in the last 15 tries at Conseco Fieldhouse, 96-83. However, while he led all scorers in the game, the night truly belonged to the Heat’s center, Jermaine O’Neal.
For the first time in four games since being traded away by the Indiana Pacers before the start of last season to the Toronto Raptors, O’Neal felt healthy and strong. As he said prior to the last night’s game:
“This is the first time in two-and-a-half, three years where I feel real good; the body is responding great, my movements are great, no knee braces. I’ve really looked forward to this. I’m pretty sure they’ll get a heavy dosage of me.”
If anyone doubted him, he convinced them with last night’s double-double performance against his former club. In the previous three games he played against them since being traded away, he’d only averaged 8.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.
Last night he scorched the Pacers for 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting (8-of-12 from the charity stripe), and hauled down 12 rebounds in the 32:26 minutes he was on the court; matching his exact scoring and rebounding production from the game against the New York Knicks.
He also had an emphatic block and an assist to complete his statline as he helped the Heat to a 2-0 start to their season. Michael Beasley also chipped in with a solid 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting (4-of-5 from the FT-line), along with 9 rebounds, one assist, and two steals in 29:04 minutes of play as he started at the power forward position for the second game.
The man he replaced at the position, Udonis Haslem came off the bench to produce his usual solid outing with a double-double of his own, scoring 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting (2-2 from the FT-line) to go along with his 10 rebounds in 28:49 minutes on the court.
Mario Chalmers, while not lighting it up, scoring only eight points on 2-of-2 shooting (4-of-5 from the FT-line), dished out six assists and had one steal in 34:17 minutes of play.
His solid performance certainly quieted some of his many critics, and considering his backup, newly acquired point guard Carlos Arroyo failed to score with an 0-of-3 shooting performance in his 13:43 minutes on the court, it’s unlikely many will be calling for Mario’s benching anytime soon.
The Pacers were led by their All-Star forward, Danny Granger, who matched O’Neal’s 22 points on 6-of-20 shooting (7-of-10 from the FT-line), including 3-of-12 from beyond the arc. If he’d connected on some of those long threes, Indiana might have stood a chance, but as it is, his poor outside shooting doomed the Pacers since he didn’t get much help from his teammates.
Troy Murphy, Solomon Jones, and former Heat guard Luther Head all scored 12 points for the Indiana club, with Troy Murphy adding 13 rebounds to his statline to round out his night for the Pacers, who’ve now opened the season with two double-digit losses. Yet, T.J. Ford, Brandon Rush, and Dahntay Jones, three of the players the Pacers were hoping would contribute solid games in their effort against the Heat, could only muster up 15 points between them.
The majority of the reason the Pacers have struggled out of the gate this season is due to the fact Indiana is trying to work in some very young and inexperienced players into their lineup. For instance, Roy Hibbert and Solomon Jones combined for 11 fouls as O’Neal and his teammates took advantage of the young Pacers players.
“I think our young guys got a lesson,” Indiana coach Jim O’Brien said. “Roy and Solomon really got schooled by Jermaine O’Neal. But they’ll get better by playing guys like that.”
One of their young players, rookie forward Tyler Hansbrough avoided the schooling as he sat out with a right shin injury. He was joined on the injury list by guard Mike Dunleavy, and center Jeff Foster left the game in the first quarter and didn’t return after he sprained his left ankle.
Indiana shot a dismal 24 percent in that first quarter, as Miami jumped out to a 28-16 lead. They stormed back in the second quarter to draw within two at the half, 49-47, but the Heat’s torrid third quarter, in which they outscored the Pacers 30-16, doomed the Indiana franchise in the game. Dwyane Wade, Jermaine O’Neal, and even the Heat coaching staff, were determined to finally get a win away from home against the Pacers.
Even when Wade picked up his fourth foul with more than 6 minutes left in the third quarter, he was left in the game because of the insistence of assistant coach Ron Rothstein that Miami needed his presence on the court to secure the win and put the boot to Indiana’s throat, so to speak.
“It’s rewarding to finally win here,” Wade said after getting his first win in Indiana in 12 attempts.
O’Neal, while playing with a vigor and ferocity most Indiana fans hadn’t seen from him since the days he was an All-Star in 2004—when he was one of the most feared and respected players in the game (finishing third in the MVP balloting that year)—doesn’t harbor any hard feelings toward his old team and teammates.
“I don’t have any animosity with this organization anymore,” O’Neal said. “I told myself that I would let that go, I would close that door, close that chapter.”
If he wanted closure, his impressive performance against them last night should have given it to him. He was even able to smile when Pacers fans booed him. Dwyane Wade, however, felt the Indiana faithful were wrong in doing so.
“Unfortunately, when some players leave a city they get booed, but when you think Indiana Pacers, you think Reggie Miller and Jermaine O’Neal,” Wade said. “He’s one of the guys who helped build this organization; this franchise. He came back today and was very professional about his approach.”
That professionalism, along with Wade’s and the rest of the Miami Heat’s balanced play, allowed Miami to get off to their first 2-0 start since Wade was a rookie in 2004-2005. They’ll next face the Chicago Bulls (1-1 on the season), who were thoroughly demolished last night by the Boston Celtics 118-90, in the more comfortable setting of AmericanAirlines Arena.
The way Jermaine O’Neal is playing, unless he gets injured, the Heat should be able to handle the Bulls relatively easily. I’ll be posting a preview to that game tomorrow morning, but I can already tell you my prediction. I believe Miami will play with the same offensive balance and efficiency they did against the Knicks and Pacers, and starts the season out 3-0 as they rout the Bulls 110-90.
Quotes taken from AP and Sun-Sentinel recaps of the game, along with AP preview piece of the game.
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