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InsideHoops [NBA Playoffs]

NBA Game Summary: Miami Heat take Game 1 from Wizards

 


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/ May 8, 2005

MIAMI -- There's a runaway bulldozer in the 2004-05 NBA playoffs. The Miami Heat are plowing their way through the postseason and don't plan on slowing down just yet.

Despite a merely average Dwyane Wade and limited contributions from Shaquille O'Neal, Miami unleashed a total team effort against the Washington Wizards, winning 105-86 to take a 1-0 series lead in the best-of-7 second round matchup.

Shaquille O'Neal, who played just 26 minutes, spent most of the game in foul trouble, and exited the game with his sixth in the fourth quarter. He finished with 19 points (8-of-12 shooting), seven rebounds and two steals. O'Neal also committed two turnovers. But with the rest of his team stepping up, that was more than enough.

Five Miami players finished with double-digit point totals.

The first half was close and hard-fought.

Early in the third quarter, Shaquille O'Neal picked up his fourth foul. And that's when the rest of Miami's players stepped up to take over the game.

Dwyane Wade, who was ineffective in the first half, erupted in the second to finish with 20 points (7-of-18), five rebounds, seven assists and four turnovers.

Miami bomber Damon Jones, who is limited by a bad heel that can only get better with rest, played 25 minutes, launching five three-pointers, making two, and finishing with 10 points, three rebounds and four assists. He is not expected to practice at all for the rest of the playoffs. When not on the court, Jones wears a protective boot.

For Washington, Gilbert Arenas shot just 8-of-21 for 25 points and six steals. Larry Hughes connected on just six of his 17 shots. But he drew plenty of fouls (10-of-11 free throws). Hughes finished with 23 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. And the third member of Washington's "big three," Antawn Jamison, dealing with a sore right knee, limped back to the locker room with eight minutes left in the game. He finished with an underwhelming 13 points, eight rebounds and no assists.

"Washington made a lot of comebacks throughout the year," said Heat coach Stan Van Gundy to the Associated Press and other media after the game. "Eddie does a great job when things are going bad. They change their defenses, the pick up their energy level. ... Against a team like Washington, you've really got to stay the course. You need a 48-minute effort."

As a team, Miami shot 52.4% (43-of-82) from the field. Washington couldn't buy a basket and hit just 36.8% (28-of-76) of their shots.

Another telling stat was Heat domination in the assists department. They dished 23, compared to just nine for the Wizards.

After sweeping the New Jersey Nets in the first round, Miami hadn't played for a week. But there was no rust in their game today.

Washington held a major edge from the charity stripe, getting to the free throw line 36 times (26-of-36). Miami struggled from the line, shooting 52.2% (12-of-23).

Besides a better game from Arenas, Hughes and Jamison, the Wizards need help up front. In their first round matchup against the Chicago Bulls, the Wizards got a big boost from their big men, center Brendan Haywood and power forward Ethan Thomas. But they now face stiffer competition in Udonis Haslem, Shaquille O'Neal and Alonzo Mourning.

Mourning, meanwhile, was extremely solid off the bench. In 16 minutes he shot 3-of-4 for seven points, four rebounds, three blocks, and plenty of hard bangs and solid picks.

The bench play was another telling tale of this game. Miami got 36 points from their bench, while Washington got just five points, all from Etan Thomas. Keyon Dooling, making quite a name for himself in these playoffs, shot 6-of-9 for 15 points, three rebounds and three assists. Christian Laettner and Rasual Butler were also solid.

Miami has won five straight playoff games for the first time in team history.

Game 2 is Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. ET in Miami.










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