At 36 years of age, the amount of times surefire Hall-of-Famer Dwyane Wade is able to dominate a game like he used to isn’t often anymore, but on Monday night he rolled back the clock and looked more like “Flash” from over a decade ago.
Finishing with 28 points and seven rebounds on 11-of-16 shooting, Wade almost single-handedly willed the Miami Heat to a surprising 113-103 win over the Philadelphia 76ers to even up their first-round playoff series at 1-1 and steal home-court advantage from the Sixers in the process.
It was a vintage Wade performance filled with plenty of acrobatic lay-ups, mid-range jimmies and cold-blooded step-backs right in defenders’ eyes.
But what could’ve spurred on such a performance? There’s the fact that it was a playoff game, but Wade’s played in 173 so it’s not like he’ll be any more jazzed up for one over another anymore — particularly a first-round matchup.
No, there was extra motivation for Wade Monday night in Philaelphia and it came court-side.
“Thank Kevin Hart for that,” Wade told ESPN when asked where all that extra juice came from.
Hart, a Philadelphia native, was seen loudly trying to rattle Wade and the Heat Monday night but it seemed to only light a fire under the old superstar to shut him up.
Despite this, Hart isn’t dissuaded and is hinting he’ll be travelling to Miami for Games 3 and 4 to have his revenge.
Wade, however, doesn’t seem too impressed.
You can’t come to Miami… https://t.co/HAHNZ4z1px
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) April 17, 2018
Game 3 between the Heat and 76ers goes Thursday.
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