Wade leads Heat past Sonics
SEATTLE – Dwyane Wade was in his usual spot as the Heat’s starting shooting guard for Friday night’s game against the SuperSonics.
How much longer Wade remains in that role this season is uncertain. Heat coach Pat Riley said before Friday’s game that he is considering shutting down Wade before the end of the season to give him extra rest.
Wade then went out and showed he’s still got some big-play ability in that battered body. He bounced back from a sluggish performance in Thursday night’s loss to the Lakers to score a game-high 31 points in a 103-93 victory against the Sonics.
The Heat (11-45) ended their 14-game road losing streak and won for the second time in three games. Shawn Marion had 14 points and 13 rebounds and Ricky Davis had 15 points off the bench for the Heat. Miami has 26 games remaining this season.
Riley was asked before Friday’s game if the combination of the Heat’s league-worst record and Wade’s lingering ailments might force him to consider sitting Wade. Another option would be to limit Wade’s minutes.
“Yeah. We have to be realistic here, OK,” Riley said. “If the guy is playing hurt, and playing hurt could get him to a point where he could have another catastrophic injury, for whatever reason, it’s foolish, with your most important asset.”
Swift may be done
SuperSonics center Robert Swift is headed for another knee surgery and is likely out for the season after playing in just eight games.
The 7-footer, who had been slow to recover from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee that cost him all of last season, will undergo surgery on Tuesday to repair a torn lateral meniscus in the same knee.
Swift hurt the knee in a game at Portland on Feb. 21.
The team said in a statement that Swift received a second opinion on the latest injury this week from Dr. Steve Lombardo in Los Angeles.
The Sonics had said they wanted to spend the remainder of the season evaluating how Swift fits into their remodeling plans. Seattle recently traded forward-center Kurt Thomas to San Antonio partly to give Swift and Johan Petro room to grow.