Game #41

I wrote a short thing for the Daily Dime about Flash torching the Pacers last night and scoring his 11,000th career point in the process. Figured I’d share in case you missed it.

The Pacers might have actually been glad to see Dwyane Wade make his first 3-pointer of the game Tuesday night. Much like with LeBron James prior to this season or Allen Iverson always, the best defense against an elite penetrator who too often settles for jump shots often can be to just let him shoot. The last thing you want a guy called Flash to do is try to dribble by you, so if he becomes enamored with the long stuff early, you might have him right where you want him — away from the paint.

And Wade, who was shooting 27.4 percent from behind the arc on 3.2 3-point attempts per game going into Tuesday night, is definitely someone Pacers coach Jim O’Brien likes to see standing 25 feet from the hoop.

But this wasn’t O’Brien’s night. It was Wade’s night.

After hitting his first 3 less than two minutes after the tip, Wade would hit two more triples in the quarter and tallied 18 of his game-high 32 points before the first period ended. In the second quarter — by which point the game already seemed over, and Miami was adding to a lead that would eventually reach 31 points — Wade added a layup that put him over the 11,000-point mark for his career. The way things were going, it felt like he might eclipse the 12,000-point plateau before the half.

Indiana had come back to win after being down 23 against Toronto just last week and followed that up by erasing a 24-point deficit to beat Phoenix two days later, so there was still hope. But similar fortune would not return. Not on a night when the Pacers were playing in Miami instead of Indianapolis. Not on a night when Danny Granger shot 2-for-16. And not when Michael Beasley was playing Robin to Flash’s … well … Flash.

Let’s hope they have better luck against the other Florida team tonight.

(Full preview to come shortly)

Related Topics: Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade, Game #41, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic

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