Thursday NBA Roundup: Dwyane Wade Returns to Miami as New Chapter Continues
Dwyane Wade earned this one.
His performance during the Chicago Bulls' 98-95 victory over the Miami Heat won't stack up against his career bests. He was only able to record 13 points, seven rebounds, four assists and a steal while shooting a disappointing 5-of-17 from the field and drawing iron on all four of his deep attempts.
But the stat line almost doesn't matter. He won the game, entering American Airlines Arena as a visitor for the first time in his professional career and leaving with a victory in front of the fans who had cheered him on for so many years.
And they continued to cheer, up until the bitter end showed them on the wrong end of the scoreboard. When he was introduced:
During the tear-jerking video montage honoring his time in Miami:
As he sought his first bucket in that enemy uniform, which Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley noted while on the scene:
When Jimmy Butler chose to let Wade finish a fast-break opportunity instead of taking the two points for himself:
And most of all, they cheered when Wade completed a circus shot eerily reminiscent of his prime days with the home franchise:
Visiting players receive various reactions when they return to old stomping grounds. Just ask LeBron James, who was met with something bordering on malevolence upon his first return to Cleveland during the Heat era of his career.
Some are booed vociferously—payback for an ugly split. Others are met with ambivalence. Others still are greeted with gracious recognition of their immense contributions in previous years, and it's that last category Wade fell into.
And why wouldn't he? Prior to this year, the future Hall of Famer had dedicated his life to the organization, winning multiple titles and establishing himself as the franchise leader in so many different categories:
| Games Played | 855 | No. 1 |
| Minutes Played | 30,560 | No. 1 |
| Rebounds | 4,126 | No. 4 |
| Assists | 4,944 | No. 1 |
| Steals | 1,414 | No. 1 |
| Blocks | 759 | No. 2 |
| Points | 20,221 | No. 1 |
| Player Efficiency Rating | 24.7 | No. 3 |
| Offensive Win Shares | 72.7 | No. 1 |
| Defensive Win Shares | 41.1 | No. 1 |
| Box Plus/Minus | 5.3 | No. 2 |
The diversity of Wade's game has always been stunning, and it allowed him to populate nearly every leaderboard. But let's home in on his scoring, because that helps him stand out even more.
During Wade's Miami career, he scored 20,221 points. The next three on the franchise countdown are Alonzo Mourning (9,459), Glen Rice (9,248) and James (7,919).
Sure, you can argue that other players had higher peaks than Wade and were more consistent in certain categories league-wide. The 2-guard never reached the level James ascended to during his brief time in South Beach, nor was he ever as dominant an interior defender as Mourning.
But the all-around product and longstanding excellence still make him the obvious choice as the best player in franchise history. According to NBA Math's total points added, he had five of the franchise's nine best individual seasons, as well as six of the top 13. In fact, take a gander at how his career TPA stacks up against the other top Miami marks:
But it's also inside American Airlines Arena itself that Wade has built so much of his legacy.
No one—and we mean no one—has come close to matching his statistical production within the building located at 601 Biscayne Boulevard:
| Points | 10,583 | No. 1 |
| Rebounds | 2,029 | No. 2 (Udonis Haslem: 2,877) |
| Assists | 2,499 | No. 1 |
| Steals | 787 | No. 1 |
| Blocks | 413 | No. 2 (Alonzo Mourning: 426) |
Wade will have more chances to add to those leads while wearing a Chicago uniform, but this first performance will always be the most memorable one. And it's only fitting it came during a victory, since he did so much winning while occupying the other locker room.
"Weird game," he said afterward on the TNT broadcast. "One of the weirdest games I've ever played in. I'm glad it's over."
The New Orleans Pelicans Finally Get On the Board
And then there was one.
The Philadelphia 76ers are now the NBA's lone winless team, since the New Orleans Pelicans managed to get by surviving a late charge from the Milwaukee Bucks. The home team had a chance to tie the game with less than 30 seconds remaining but couldn't complete the comeback, thereby allowing NOLA to leave BMO Harris Bradley Center with a 112-106 victory.
Jabari Parker did everything he could for the Bucks, finishing with 33 points and nine rebounds on 13-of-26 shooting from the field. Giannis Antetokounmpo did his darnedest down the stretch, even completing a tough and-1 late in the fourth quarter to close the deficit to a single possession.
But this night still belonged to Anthony Davis, and not just because he closed the contest with a pair of clutch, lead-extending free throws.
The big man's fantastic season continues, this time with 32 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and four blocks. That line may not measure up against some of his other early exploits, but the combination of numbers remains rather unique. In the last five seasons, only five other players have submitted such a line, and only one other player has done it twice (DeMarcus Cousins).
This was Davis' sixth such performance.
Enjoy him every chance you get—doubly true when his teammates are up to the challenge and help him earn an elusive "W."
Los Angeles Lakers Are Growing Up
Forget everything you thought you knew about the Los Angeles Lakers. This is a new team under head coach Luke Walton's supervision, and it proved as much by bouncing back from a 19-point first-half deficit to beat the Sacramento Kings 101-91 on Thursday night.
The biggest highlight? That's easy, and we'll let Fox Sports' Dan Carson set the stage:
Now, the alley-oop itself:
But Timofey Mozgov, who was brilliant while setting screens and playing tough interior defense against DeMarcus Cousins during the second half, was far from the only bright spot.
Nick Young was making smart decisions on both ends, even attempting to take a charge against a driving Cousins. Lou Williams was under control during his fourth-quarter scoring explosion. Brandon Ingram used his length to thrive on the glass. Jordan Clarkson did everything well on the offensive end. D'Angelo Russell kept his team alive in the first half with his scoring prowess. Larry Nance Jr. thrived while doing all the little things.
And Julius Randle continued developing into arguably the team's best player, finishing with 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists while grabbing a ton of big boards and earning crucial free-throw attempts down the stretch.
This Lakers team is no pushover. It's growing up before our eyes and becoming a tough out—even with Thursday night's obvious caveat that this victory came against the struggling Kings.
By refusing to give up and fostering an atmosphere of growth, one in which players are allowed to make mistakes and learn from them, Walton has gotten everyone to buy in.
Now, the Lakers are 5-4, and it seems like the best is yet to come.
Stephen Curry is Heating Up
Remember when Stephen Curry looked mortal at the beginning of the 2016-17 campaign?
That's now a memory rooted in the distant past. Though the two-time reigning MVP hasn't matched his 13-triple performance against the Pelicans, he hasn't slowed down much, either.
That record-setting affair was followed up by a 4-of-8 downtown showing against the Dallas Mavericks. Then he graced Thursday night with another seven treys, highlighted by this dazzling display of improvisation at the Denver Nuggets' expense during a 125-101 victory:
Don't look now, but Curry's average number of successful threes is only trending up. He began the season with a meager three buckets from beyond the arc, but is now getting closer to last season's mark (5.1):
And the same is true of his percentage: In 2015-16, Curry connected on a staggering 45.4 percent of his deep looks. Now, it's starting to look like he could leave that number in the dust:
Breaking news: Curry is still good at this whole shooting thing.
Adam Fromal covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @fromal09.
Unless otherwise indicated, all stats are from Basketball-Reference.com, NBA.com or NBA Math and are current heading into games on Nov. 10.
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