Dwyane Wade’s late game heroics lift Miami Heat over Charlotte Hornets to force Game 7

Dwyane Wade put the Miami Heat on his back to force Game 7 back in South Florida.

With the Miami Heat up by six with 3:06 to go, Dwyane Wade got the ball with just seconds left on the shot clock and put up a desperate three-pointer. It went in, and wad Wade’s first three-pointer since December of 2015. The Heat went scoreless for the next 2:20 as the Charlotte Hornets climbed back in the game on the shoulders of Kemba Walker, who scored seven straight points. And then, again, Wade hit ’em with the tre.

And then, on the other end, Wade blocked Kemba Walker in what was essentially the nail in the coffin.

In a series where the Hornets were taking everything away from the Heat, in a Game 6 in which Hassan Whiteside fouled out, Miami had to make do with what Charlotte was giving them. Wade accepted the challenge. He may not want to shoot three’s but, when he had to, he made them. For those who wonder what Wade has left in the tank, you can never count out that man in the clutch. It’s not “vintage,” that’s just what this dude does.

Wade scored 23 points, making 10 of his 20 shots. Though he struggled in the third quarter after scoring six points in the second quarter, that didn’t keep him from shooting. His late-game heroics overshadowed a big night from Luol Deng (21 points on 14 shots) and a big quarter from Goran Dragic (who finished with 14 points), who almost single handedly maintained Miami’s lead during the late-third and early-fourth quarter.

For the Hornets, Walker was simply sensational, scoring the last 12 points for Charlotte before an Al Jefferson layup that brought the game to 93-90. Walker finished with a sensational 37 points.

Miami went on the road, down 3-2, and tied the series at 3-3 to force a Game 7 on their home floor on Sunday. Stay tuned, we’re not done here.

More notes from the game:

1. Taking away the transition game

After the Heat used a strong semi-transition game–pushing the ball up the floor after rebounds–to manufacture offense in Game 5, the Hornets committed to taking that away. Rather than crashing the board to contest the Heat for rebounds, the Hornets got back and made sure to get set in its half-court defense, rather than let the Heat beat them down the floor.

The result was a 46-31 rebound advantage for the Heat, but far fewer points in semi-transition.

2. Run ’em off the line

After allowing the Hornets to make 12-of-24 three-pointers in Game 5, the Heat had to limit the Hornets’ long range scoring. There is just no way they could have competed with that.

They ran Charlotte’s shooters off the line, going over screens and funneling guys to Whiteside. Erik Spoelstra put Josh Richardson and Justise Winslow on Walker and Jeremy Lin early in order to bother the Hornets’ best play makers.

The Hornets did miss some open three’s, but the combination of that and the ramped up Miami defense resulted in a five-for-17 night from long range.

3. Big minutes for Udonis Haslem

Let’s just take a moment and soak this in. What a great game from Udonis Haslem, who left it all on the floor tonight. He took charges, grabbed late, contested rebounds and played dogged defense on Jefferson (who had been taking Whiteside to school).

Haslem played nearly 15 minutes tonight and was relied upon when Whiteside fouled out with about three minutes left in the game. The Heat had no choice, they needed big minutes from UD, and he delivered. You could see him clutching his side or limping up the floor, but the ultimate #HeatLifer gave it all tonight.

4. Next up

Game 7 at home. Sunday.