It was just another evening in the office for the Miami Heat playing host to the Detroit Pistons in a 102-96 win. Dwyane Wade led the way finishing with 30 points, his best total since Dec. 18 in an injury-prone season, and he added a season-best 10 rebounds and five assists. LeBron James added 24 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds. One rebound was taken away from James by teammate Wade.
James fell short of the Heat’s first triple-double this season. “D-Wade knew what he had going on, too,” James said. “He was like, ‘I need this double-double.’ He had a heck of a game. He was spectacular.” Wade pleaded guilty to being briefly motivated by getting his first double-double of the season. “I was going for a double-double,” he said with a laugh. “Sorry.”
“The majority of it is Dwyane feeling good about his body, his health and his quickness, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra stated. The Heat improved to 5-0 this season when their Big 3 of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh combine for at least 70 points. Bosh scored 17 points to help Miami win for the fifth time in six games.
The Pistons who trailed almost the entire game were called for four technical fouls. Brandon Jennings led the Pistons with 26 points and seven assists. Detroit forced 20 turnovers and outrebounded the Heat 51 to 44.
The Heat play six road games including a breakaway for the NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans, before their next home game Feb. 23. The defending champs improved to 20-5 when leading after one quarter. The Pistons are 1-21 when trailing after three periods.
