The Miami Heat (37–34) cleaned up against the New Jersey Nets (7–63) on Monday night 99–89 at the IZOD center in New Jersey. It was yet another loss for the Nets in what is shaping up to be the worst season in NBA history.
Miami star Dwyane Wade put on a show with 27 points and 12 assists after a slow start, and was backed up by big man Jermaine O’Neal with 25 points and 9 rebounds.
The Nets’ Brook Lopez put up a valiant effort with 26 points but was weak on defense with only a single rebound for the night. Devin Harris and Courtney Lee contributed with 16 and 15 points respectively.
The Nets opened strongly against Miami with sharp shooting in the first quarter for 32 points and a 7-point lead. But the Heat leveled the playing field in the second quarter with several fast breaks and good hustle.
The first half ended with a jaw-dropping 47-foot shot from a flying Terrence Williams, who later exited the game with a possible season-ending foot injury.
The Nets went flat in the third quarter scoring only 14 points to Miami’s 27, a trend that continued into the fourth.
The Nets began chipping away at Miami’s lead in the final minutes of the game and, at one point, pulled to within five. But Wade took charge and the Heat finished off the Nets by 10 points.
Monday was the Nets’ 14th-straight loss at home and 8th-straight overall.
With 12 games to go in the season time is running out for the Nets to break the dubious nine-win season record held by the Philadelphia 76ers.
The picture isn’t entirely bleak though.
The Nets have no matchups against top teams in the coming weeks and some are against almost equally deplorable teams like Sacramento, Detroit, Washington, and Milwaukee.
Miami has a similarly easy schedule remaining and are currently holding on to the sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
Miami star Dwyane Wade put on a show with 27 points and 12 assists after a slow start, and was backed up by big man Jermaine O’Neal with 25 points and 9 rebounds.
The Nets’ Brook Lopez put up a valiant effort with 26 points but was weak on defense with only a single rebound for the night. Devin Harris and Courtney Lee contributed with 16 and 15 points respectively.
The Nets opened strongly against Miami with sharp shooting in the first quarter for 32 points and a 7-point lead. But the Heat leveled the playing field in the second quarter with several fast breaks and good hustle.
The first half ended with a jaw-dropping 47-foot shot from a flying Terrence Williams, who later exited the game with a possible season-ending foot injury.
The Nets went flat in the third quarter scoring only 14 points to Miami’s 27, a trend that continued into the fourth.
The Nets began chipping away at Miami’s lead in the final minutes of the game and, at one point, pulled to within five. But Wade took charge and the Heat finished off the Nets by 10 points.
Monday was the Nets’ 14th-straight loss at home and 8th-straight overall.
With 12 games to go in the season time is running out for the Nets to break the dubious nine-win season record held by the Philadelphia 76ers.
The picture isn’t entirely bleak though.
The Nets have no matchups against top teams in the coming weeks and some are against almost equally deplorable teams like Sacramento, Detroit, Washington, and Milwaukee.
Miami has a similarly easy schedule remaining and are currently holding on to the sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
