The Heat were led by Dwyane Wade’s 25 points, seven assists, three rebounds and three blocks. He also hit 10-of-17 field goal attempts in only 29 minutes. Michael Beasley chipped in 22 points, while Quentin Richardson and Dorell Wright both had 11 points.

Although Orlando entered the game with a 19-6 record, you would have never known by just watching them play on Thursday night. Usually they share the ball well and knock down shots — but that wasn’t the case. The Magic finished with just 12 assists and hit 9-of-28 three-pointers and 9-of-17 free throws.

The Heat are now 13-11 after winning their last two games. The mini winning streak started after Carlos Arroyo was placed in the starting lineup ahead of Mario Chalmers. If Miami keeps winning, expect to keep seeing that lineup.

Dwyane Wade and the Heat were hot (Image: Zuma Press)

Post from: EveryJoe

Dwyane Wade and Heat Smoke Magic

Beasley finished the game with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Wade, per usual, led the way with 24 points, six assists, four rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

The Magic, on the other hand, suffered a disappointing home loss. Jason Williams, starting in place of the injured Jameer Nelson, had 25 points and eight assists in 39 minutes. Dwight Howard had 12 points and 16 rebounds but only attempted five shots from the field.

Orlando had a five-point lead heading into the fourth quarter but that evaporated due to Miami’s aggressive play on both ends. The win improves the Heat to 9-5, while the Magic dropped to 11-4 with the loss.

Here’s a look at Michael Beasley’s dunk that won the game:

Post from: EveryJoe

Michael Beasley Wins Game with Dunk – Video

The strained muscle is located near his rib cage on the left side. However, the exact diagnosis isn’t known at the moment.

“I don’t think I got hit or anything,” Wade told the Miami Herald. “But you never know. You just want to make sure you don’t want to make it worse, not knowing what it is.”

Without Wade in the lineup, the Heat lost to the Spurs by a final score of 95-93. The Spurs won thanks to a monster effort from their second round pick DeJuan Blair. Blair finished the game with 28 points, four rebounds and four assists in 26 minutes. The Heat were led by Daequan Cook’s 20 points.

The Heat play again on Wednesday against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Keep an eye open to see if Wade will be able to bounce back from his rib injury.

Dwyane Wade - Miami Heat (Image: Zuma Press)

Post from: EveryJoe

Dwyane Wade Injury Update – Ribs

While Beasley was in rehab, he had contact with members of the Heat organization on a daily basis. Erik Spoelstra, the head coach of the Heat, thinks Beasley is prepared for training camp.

Said Spoelstra: “We’ve spent a great deal of time with him this summer, trying to develop him on the court but also off the court. He’s ready. He was excited to be back here.”

Last year as a rookie, Beasley averaged 13.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game in 24.8 minutes. He shot 47.2% from the floor and 40.7% from beyond three-point range.

If Beasley can tackle his personal issues, expect his role on the Heat to grow. He’ll spend time at both small forward and power forward while likely being the team’s go-to option outside of Dwyane Wade.

Michael Beasley is out of rehab (Image: Zuma Press)

Post from: EveryJoe

Michael Beasley Out of Rehab

5. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
Coming off of a championship season and surrounding with a lot of talent, Kobe Bryant won’t have to put in enough work to win this regular season award.

4. Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets
Chris Paul has established himself as one of the best players in the league. If the Hornets can get a first or second seed in the West, Paul has a chance at the MVP.

3. Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
Already considered by many as the best bigman in the world, Dwight Howard may be able to get considerably better. If that’s the case, watch out.

2. Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
Last season, Dwyane Wade bounced back from years of injuries and re-established himself as a great NBA player. If he can stay healthy again, Wade will be a top MVP candidate.

1. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
Everything seems to point to LeBron James winning the MVP award for the second straight season. His pending free agency will keep all eyes on him and LeBron still has to prove that he can win when it matters. Expect greatness again in the 2009-10 season.

Will LeBron James get revenge in the 2009-10 NBA season? (Image: Zuma Press)

Post from: EveryJoe

2010 NBA MVP Favorites – Early Look

Leading the way for the Hawks was All-Star guard Joe Johnson. In 44 minutes, Johnson had 27 points, five rebounds, five steals and four assists. He hit 10-of-19 shots from the floor and 6-of-8 three-pointers. He got help from Josh Smith’s 21 points and nine rebounds, Mike Bibby’s 11 points and six assists and the 15 points off the bench from Ronald Murray.

Dwyane Wade (who else?) led the Heat with 31 points, although he connected on just 10-of-25 shots from the field. Rookie Michael Beasley had 17 points and seven boards off the bench. The only other Heat in double-digits was Udonis Haslem with 14 points to go along with 13 rebounds.

In the second round of the playoffs, the Hawks will be going up against the Cleveland Cavaliers. While LeBron and the Cavs will be tough, the Hawks have proven they are a very good home team that has enough talent to steal wins on the road.

Joe Johnson, Atlanta Hawks (Image: Newscom)

Post from: EveryJoe

Hawks Cool Off Heat in Game 7

Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat (Image: Newscom)

The Heat led 32-18 after the end of the first quarter and the Hawks struggled to mount any sort of comeback. The second half was dominated by Miami and they were able to post a resounding 98-72 win.

Helping out Wade was rookie Michael Beasley. The second overall pick in the draft scored 22 points and pulled down 15 rebounds off the bench.

The Hawks were led by Mike Bibby’s 20 points, while Joe Johnson and Flip Murray both scored 13 points. Atlanta played without starting center Al Horford due to a sore foot. Marvin Williams was only able to play five minutes due to a wrist injury.

Game 7 will be played in Atlanta on Sunday afternoon.

Post from: EveryJoe

Dwyane Wade Leads Heat to Force Game 7

Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat (Image: Newscom)

Wade scored his 55 without taking many shots. He finished the game 19-30 from the field, 6-for-12 from beyond the three-point line and 11-for-13 at the charity stripe. He also chipped in with nine rebounds and four assists in his 39 minutes of action.

With the win, the 42-38 Heat are now locked into the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. They will open the playoffs on the road against the fourth seeded Atlanta Hawks. If they advance past the first round, they will almost certainly face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round.

Michael Beasley, the rookie forward for Miami, scored 28 points and grabbed 16 rebounds. The Knicks were led by the 21 points apiece by Al Harrington and Wilson Chandler.

Post from: EveryJoe

Dwyane Wade Explodes for 55 for Heat

Don’t believe me? Check out these stats. Since the All-Star break, Wade is averaging 36.5 points per game, 10.8 assists, 5.7 rebounds, 2.7 steals and 1.5 blocks. Those are just disgusting numbers. Cut the numbers in half and they are still better numbers than most starters in the NBA average.

Since leading the Miami Heat to the 2006 NBA Championship, Wade hasn’t been able to live up to the hype. He’s mostly been either hurt, hobbled or almost hobbled. But now he’s healthy and making a hard run at the 2008-09 NBA MVP award.

Here is a video of the best player in the NBA getting a steal and hitting a game-winner:

Post from: EveryJoe

Dwyane Wade is the Best Player in the NBA

Although self expression isn’t rare in the NBA, the Band-Wade was more like Band-Lame. And I say “was” because the NBA has outlawed the use of the Band-Wade in games from now on. If Wade actually has a condition on his face that requires band-aid, he’s free to wear a regular band-aid.

Usually, such censorship would be met with harsh critiques, however I don’t think anyone is sad to see the Band-Wade leave. A band-aid on your face? Really? At least headbands and arm sleeves serve some sort of purpose. Pretending to have an open wound on your face? Not so much.

Now the question will be whether Wade will fight back. If he does, how about tattooing a Band-Wade on his face? Now that may be worth the price of admission.

Post from: EveryJoe

Band-Wade Outlawed by the NBA