Despite a sore foot, Miami’s Dwyane Wade has knocked down game-winning
baskets in the final seconds in back-to-back contests.

The Charlotte Bobcats have already found themselves on the wrong end of one
of those shots.

Wade looks to lead the Heat to their second victory over the Bobcats in five
days and help Miami open with five consecutive wins for the first time in
franchise history in Sunday night’s rematch at AmericanAirlines Arena.

After trailing for all of 14 seconds in victories over Dallas and Boston,
the Heat (4-0) received their first real scare of the season in Charlotte on
Wednesday. They fell behind 11-0 in the opening minutes and faced a 15-point
halftime deficit before outscoring the Bobcats 24-10 in the third quarter to get
back in the game.

A 3-pointer by Gerald Henderson with 12 seconds remaining in the fourth put
Charlotte up by one, but Wade responded by banking a 10-footer over Henderson
with 2.9 seconds left to lift the Heat to a 96-95 win, their sixth straight
victory in the series. Wade, who finished with 10 points on 5-of-13 shooting,
got the call to take the final shot despite sitting out almost the entire third
quarter with a bruised foot.

The injury caused Wade to be a game-time decision for Friday’s game in
Minnesota, but the seven-time All-Star suited up and hit another game-winner.
With the score tied, Wade converted an alley-oop layup off an inbounds pass from
LeBron James with 4.6 seconds to play to give Miami a 103-101 victory.

“D-Wade, that’s two game-winners back-to-back, right? Good for him,” James
said. “I like it.”

While Wade’s clutch baskets have helped the Heat match the 2004-05 club for
the best start in franchise history, James is handling the largest share of the
scoring. James finished with 34 points Friday on his 27th birthday after scoring
35 against the Bobcats. He has already reached the 34-point mark three times and
is shooting 59.8 percent.

Chris Bosh also stepped up Wednesday, finishing with a season-high 25
points. He only grabbed six rebounds, as Charlotte had a 53-30 edge on the
boards.

Although the Bobcats (1-2) had Miami on the ropes, they turned in a sluggish
performance against Orlando on Friday night.

Charlotte wanted little to do with Magic center Dwight Howard on defense,
settling mostly for jump shots. The Bobcats shot a season-low 36.1 percent and
had only 20 points in the paint in a 100-79 loss.

Henderson and D.J. Augustin could not find their rhythm against Orlando.
Henderson, who had a team-high 21 points against Miami, scored eight on 4-of-13
shooting Friday, while Augustin misfired on 8 of 11 shots and finished with 14
points after scoring 20 while shooting 7 of 11 on Wednesday.

“It didn’t seem like we had energy,” Charlotte coach Paul Silas said. “We
weren’t shooting the ball well. It’s just one of those games where nothing was
happening in our favor. At all.”

This will be the first road game of the season for the Bobcats, who play
five of their next six away from Charlotte. They’ve lost six of their last seven
in Miami, where they are 3-11 all-time.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. —
For most of Wednesday’s game in Charlotte, Heat guard Dwyane Wade looked tired on the court and played that way. He even left the game with an injury.

The pain vanished in the final seconds; the tired legs won the game. Wade banked a shot off the glass with 2.9 seconds left to give the Heat its third consecutive victory to begin season.

In its first back-to-back of the season, the Heat defeated the Bobcats 96-95 after trailing for much of the game.

“I didn’t have any lift, so I got a glimpse of the rim and shot-putted it off the glass,” Wade said.

Bobcats guard D.J. Augustin defended the play well but Wade found a tiny window to get off one of his signature moves. The Bobcats missed its chance to win it at the buzzer when Augustin’s three-point attempt missed its mark. Charlotte took a 95-94 lead with 12.2 seconds left on a three-pointer by Gerald Henderson.

A careless turnover by Wade with 19.6 seconds set up Henderson’s three-pointer. The Time Warner Cable Arena exploded but the Heat had one more chance to steal away a game it had no business winning.

The possession before Henderson’s three, when Wade slashed to basket and passed up a shot for a poor pass, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra noticed a gap in the Bobcats defense. He called Wade’s number again but this time told him to finish the play.

“The play was there and we saw that he was able to get into the paint, so we ran a similar set and he was able to take advantage of it,” Spoelstra said.

Wade was surprised when he heard Spoelstra call his number in the huddle.

“I ain’t even going to lie,” Wade said. “When he called it, I was shocked because this guy [LeBron James] had it going and I wasn’t in the flow.

“I was about to say, let LeBron run it but I said, ‘You know what? I’ll do it,’ and I embraced it after I thought about it.”

Playing hurt

Wade was a surprising choice for the buzzer beater considering he was playing with an injured left foot and had four points before the fourth quarter. He was hit in the face during the first half and bruised his foot. Wade said he landed normally on the foot but felt pain.

“It’s just a bruise,” Wade said. “So, I came in [the locker room], iced down and taped it up a little different and try to come out and help my team win.”

Wade started the fourth quarter and played the entire period. Bosh played the entire fourth quarter as well, enjoying his best game of the short season. He had 25 points on 8 of 13 shooting to go along with six rebounds. He played aggressively and converted 9 of 14 from the free-throw line.

Charlotte led 60-45 in the first half, shooting 56.8 percent. The Heat shot 41 percent and was outrebounded 25-14 in the first two quarters.

Winning ugly

“You’re going to win some of these games ugly and you need to find ways to grind it out and in different ways,” Spoelstra said. “Charlotte came out and really jumped us.”

Led by Bosh, James and Mario Chalmers, the Heat buckled down on defense and held the Bobcats to nine points in the third quarter. Charlotte scored 35 points and shot 36 percent in the second half.

A fast-break dunk by Bosh cut the Bobcats lead to 79-78 with 5:34 to play and Bosh’s emphatic dunk against DJ White tied it at 86 with 3:28 to go. Bosh then delivered a key block against Corey Maggette in transition, which sparked a 6-2 run in the final minutes.

“Obviously the jumper isn’t working out for me,” Bosh said. “I think everyone saw that on Christmas. So, I just want to get down in the post and be aggressive and make some aggressive moves to the basket.”

LeBron carries day

Just as he’s done since Christmas Day, James carried the team for most of the game. He finished with a game-high 35 points on 13 of 23 shooting to go along with six rebounds and nine assists. He was 9 of 9 from the free-throw line. Wade finished with 10 points and Chalmers had 15.

“Give a lot of credit to Charlotte,” James said. “They gave it everything they had. The first half wasn’t Miami Heat basketball. In order for us to be successful going forward, we have to defend.”

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Kemba Walker, the ninth pick in this year’s NBA draft, has signed with the Charlotte Bobcats and will practice with the team today.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

An early entry candidate, the 6-foot-1 Walker led Connecticut to the 2011 NCAA championship and was named the Final Four’s most outstanding player. He was a consensus first-team All-American and first-team All-Big East selection.

Walker is expected to begin the season as the team’s backup point guard.

Last season, Walker averaged 23.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 37.6 minutes for the Huskies and was one of only two players in the nation to average 20 points, five rebounds and four assists.
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Charlotte Bobcats President of Basketball Operations Rod Higgins announced today that the team has signed first-round draft pick Kemba Walker. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Bobcats selected Walker with the ninth overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.

An early entry candidate, the 6-1 Walker led the University of Connecticut to the 2011 NCAA Championship and was named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four, consensus First Team All-American and First Team All-Big East. He also earned the Bob Cousy Award as the nation’s top point guard and was a top-five finalist for the Wooden and Naismith Awards. In 111 career collegiate games, he averaged 16.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.7 steals in 32.9 minutes. He also set a school single-season record with 965 points in 2010-11.

Last season, Walker averaged 23.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 37.6 minutes and was one of only two players in the nation to average 20 points, five rebounds and four assists. He totaled two double-doubles, one triple-double and scored 20 or more points in 27 contests. He recorded a career-high 42 points against Vermont on Nov. 17 and set a career high with 12 assists against Bucknell on March 17 in the NCAA Tournament.

Courtesy: Charlotte Bobcats

By STEVE REED
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kemba Walker, the ninth pick in this year’s NBA draft, has signed with the Charlotte Bobcats and was expected to practice with the team Sunday.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

An early entry candidate, the 6-foot-1 Walker led Connecticut to the 2011 NCAA championship and was named the Final Four’s most outstanding player. He was a consensus first-team All-American and first-team All-Big East selection.

Walker is expected to begin the season as the team’s backup point guard.

Last season, Walker averaged 23.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 37.6 minutes for the Huskies and was one of only two players in the nation to average 20 points, five rebounds and four assists.