Miami Heat vs Atlanta Hawks (100 - 94) March 6, 2010 Description:Dwyane Wade scores 38 points and dishes out 10 assists as the Heat beat the Hawks in Miami.
Beasley steps up in clutch as Heat end Hawks' win streak
By Chris Perkins, for NBA.com
Posted Sunday March 7, 2010 12:11AM
MIAMI (NBA.com exclusive) -- Heat guard Dwyane Wade didn't need to say much to second-year forward Michael Beasley in Saturday's game against Atlanta. In fact, Wade didn't say much during one particular second-half timeout. Instead, he punched Beasley in the chest.
"That's the truth," Beasley said with a smile. "He just punched me in the chest and was yelling, 'I need you.' "
Beasley responded in a big way in helping lead Miami to a 100-94 victory over the Hawks.
In the final 2:31, he had two steals, an alley-oop dunk, a rebound, a put-back basket and, perhaps the biggest basket of the game, a 3-pointer with 46.8 seconds left that gave Miami a 98-92 lead. Not bad for a guy who hadn't played a single fourth-quarter minute in the previous three games.
"I desperately needed this, just for confidence going into the last 20 games of the season," said Beasley, who has been on the bench in the final two minutes of tight games all season.
Miami (32-31) also desperately needed the victory. Miami is in a group with Toronto, Chicago, Charlotte and Milwaukee vying for the Nos. 5 through 8 playoff seeds in the Eastern Conference.
Of course, Atlanta could have used the win, too. The Hawks (40-22, .645), who had their four-game win streak ended, are chasing Boston (39-21, .650) for the No. 3 seed.
Atlanta, which got 24 points off the bench from guard Jamal Crawford, one of the leading candidates for Sixth Man of the Year, only managed two field goals and four points in the final 4:26. During that time it committed three turnovers and went 2-for-9 from the field.
"[We had] two turnovers and a couple of missed assignments on defense [down the stretch]," Crawford said.
The Heat were led by Wade's 38 points and 10 assists. It was his third consecutive game with 10 or more assists, and during that time he's averaging 33.3 points and 12 assists per game.
Atlanta countered with four players in double digits (Crawford had 24 points, guard Joe Johnson had 20 points, forward Josh Smith has 17 and center Al Horford had 10), but the Hawks uncharacteristically couldn't make plays down the stretch at either end of the court.
Beasley's two steals might have been the key defensive plays of the game. Both came on passes intended for Smith when the Hawks were trying to extend their 92-91 lead.
"We threw blind passes and they capitalized on them," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said.
That might have been due to Wade's motivational tactics.
"This is a time of year where it's winning time, and we need Michael," Wade said. "We need him to be aggressive...It got to the point where I just felt as a leader I had to get in his face. I didn't mean to hit him in his chest. He took it the way he should."
Notes
Heat guard Rafer Alston was mysteriously and curiously absent Saturday. Asked whether he'd return this season, Spoelstra replied, "We'll see." The Heat said Alston, who was on the inactive list, missed the game for personal reasons and said it would issue a release explaining Alston's status. Alston was the starter until two games ago, when he started and then sat out the final three quarters. He sat on the bench for all of Thursday's 114-111 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, meaning he'd been benched for seven consecutive quarters in favor of Carlos Arroyo.
Heat center Jermaine O'Neal sat out the final three quarters with a minor left knee injury...Hawks G Joe Johnson was scoreless in the fourth quarter and misfired on his last 10 field goal attempts. He ended 8-for-23 from the field. Author:HeatTeo Tags:2010 Duration:151 seconds View count:13585
