Miami
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
The Heat beat the Wizards 98-93to complete the four game regular series sweep of Washington, notching their sixth victory in a row and securing their place atop the Eastern Conference. These two teams, Washington and Miami, are the only two Eastern Conference teams to have winning records both on the road and at home. Miami remains 5-0 against the Southeast Division and 14-2 against Eastern Conference opponents.
Throughout his career, Shaquille O'Neal has always asked for just one thing from his General Managers: a backup center. He finally has not just one but two. "This is the first time in my career," he said, "when I go out of the game, or even foul out, that I'm not worried. Because I know I've got Mike Doleac and Christian Laettner to back me up."
Last night Shaq did indeed foul out after 36 minutes of action, a sharp contrast from the previous game when the Wizard defending him, Brendan Haywood, had to depart early with too many fouls. But Laettner and Doleac stepped it up for a combined 7 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, and 3 blocks in 25 minutes of action, shooting a combined 3-for-7 from the floor.
And of course Dwyane Wade was the man, scoring a game-high 29 points and dishing out a game-high 9 assists. Damon Jones continued his hot shooting from beyond the arc, going 5-of-12 from downtown as part of his 23 points and also handing out four assists.
Eddie Jones, however, was quickly replaced after committing four fouls in 19 minutes and replaced by Rasual Butler. Could this be an indication of a trade to come?
NEXT GAME
The Heat (17-7, first in the Southeast) host the fast-running Denver Nuggets (13-9, third in the Northwest) tomorrow night. The Nuggets are coming off of a one-point win over the Boston Celtics last night in which Carmelo Anthony scored the winning bucket and Paul Pierce was unable to answer on the other end. Yet they are just 4-5 on the road while the Heat are deadly at home. It will be a battle between Denver's up-tempo pace and Miami's halfcourt domination. The game starts at 8:00pm Eastern tomorrow night, Friday, December 17th, and will be broadcast on the Sunshine Network and NBA League Pass.
TEAM NOTES
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INJURY UPDATE
Jerome Beasley(back),Malik Allen(back) andDorell Wright(abdomen) are on the Heat's injured list.
Don Markus ofThe Baltimore Sunwrites: Shaquille O'Neal was on the Miami Heat bench, having fouled out with just under a minute left. The Washington Wizards were ahead by a point, thanks to two free throws by Gilbert Arenas. All the Wizards had to do was stop Dwyane Wade, something they had not done with much success in the fourth quarter of last night's game at MCI Center. As Wade drove to the basket, the Wizards collapsed on the talented second-year guard. Too bad they forgot about Damon Jones.Taking a kick-out pass from Wade, Jones hit a wide-open three-point shot, his fifth of the game, to lift the Heat into the lead and - with the help of a partial block by ex-Wizard Christian Laettner on the next possession - to a 98-93 win.
The Associated Press writes inWTOP News: Lakers star Kobe Bryant wants to apologize to former teammate Shaquille O'Neal for mentioning his name during a police interview last year.Bryant appeared on ESPN's "Pardon The Interruption" and "NBA Shootaround" on Wednesday and said he never meant to bring up O'Neal's name when he was being interrogated by police officers. The interview came after a woman accused Bryant of raping her. "I would apologize for any harm that I brought him and his family," Bryant said of O'Neal.
Charles Rabin ofThe Miami Heraldwrites: The Miami Arena, aka The Pink Elephant, is now on the city of Miami's tax roll-- and the Florida Marlins may be a little nearer to having a stadium they can call their own. Miami officials were wired a check for close to $28 million by Palm Beach County developer Glenn Straub on Wednesday, closing on a deal to buy the Miami Arena. Straub bought the building and its five surrounding acres without saying what his plans are. In August, he told The Herald, ``There is a bigger venture we want to do.'' ... Built in 1988 at a cost of $52.5 million for the Heat, the Panthers began to call it home five years later. But by 2000, both franchises had moved to newer -- more lucrative -- arenas.