The Miami Heat blew out a severely overmatched Minnesota Timberwolves team last night, 129-97. They did so by handling the Timberwolves in the second quarter and start of the third quarter, building a large lead, and then were able to rest their star players. Dwyane Wade played merely 24 minutes, Chris Bosh only 26, and LeBron James played 32. The Miami offense was balanced yet again, as eleven different Heat players scored, and for the second straight game six Heat players scored in double figures.
The game was close only until the middle of the second quarter, when Miami started to pick up their offense. In the first half, Wade scored 22 of his game-high 26 points while shooting 10 for 14 from the field. This was the direct result of James, who was running the offense well – both on the break and in the half-court set. James ended the half with two points (that came with 44 seconds left) but more importantly, nine assists, which accounted for 22 of the Heat’s 69 points at the half.
"What I saw tonight out of LeBron was a high IQ game," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "He managed and dissected the game with his mind. He was baiting two guys on him, really playing with a poised tempo. He wasn't 100 percent tonight, but was able to make plays and really set up guys with wide-open shots."
James - nursing a sore leg from the game on Sunday - went to work as a scorer in the third, adding 14 points on 6 of 8 shooting for the quarter. For the game, James finished with 20 points on 7 for 12 shooting, and 12 assists. Wade added 26 points on 12 for 17 shooting, and Bosh added 13 points.
Yet the Miami offense was yet again balanced, as more than the big three got involved and made significant contributions. James Jones hit five three pointers and finished with 17 points, while Eddie House went 4 for 4 from three point range and contributed 15 points to the Heat’s victory. Udonis Haslem had a double-double, with 11 points on 5 for 6 shooting and 10 rebounds. Mario Chalmers and Carlos Arroyo both added 8 points each for the Heat.
Miami does not play again until Friday, when they travel to New Orleans to face off against the Hornets, who are led by Chris Paul.
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