If you can’t beat him, foul him

MIAMI — By now, Miami guard Dwyane Wade is used to drawing fouls in bunches.

In practically every game, there’s at least a few instances where he simply abuses his defender off the dribble, soars toward the rim, draws a hard foul and sprawls to the court.

It’s not uncommon for Wade to bump fists with the offending opponent, as if to say all’s well. Yet over the last three weeks, Wade has been involved in an inordinate number of heated situations with frustrated foes — and he’s quickly growing tired of the extra attention.

The latest happened in Tuesday’s 104-86 win over Chicago, a victory that clinched the No. 1 seed for the Eastern Conference playoffs. With 2:52 left, Wade was thrown down by Bulls guard Andres Nocioni — who acknowledged afterward that the disappointment of losing got the better of him.

“People get frustrated,” Heat coach Stan Van Gundy said Wednesday. “The guy’s been kicking your butt all night long, and so you take a shot at him … that kind of thing needs to be cracked down on harder. A guy should not become a target.”

“Some games you understand it, because you understand teams don’t like to be getting scored on so much,” Wade said. Wade has taken 710 free throws this season. Entering Wednesday, only one other NBA player — Heat center Shaquille O’Neal — has made more trips to the foul line. O’Neal has attempted 720 free throws.

Wade’s a penetrating guard, and knows that fouls are part of the game. Yet at the same time, he vows not to back down from plays like the one Nocioni made, something Wade called “a cheap shot.”

“You foul me, it’s cool. But don’t do anything after the foul,” Wade said. “Don’t push me, don’t put anything extra in it. Stuff’s been happening lately because teams see a need to try to do that.”

Wade took a couple of steps toward Nocioni, yet never got the chance to do anything retaliatory.

Heat forward Udonis Haslem was already on the scene. He shoved Nocioni over some cameramen sitting near the baseline and was quickly ejected.

“For the record, me and Dwyane talked about the fine,” Haslem said. “We’re going to split it up, 70-30 his way.”

Nocioni left the court but wasn’t ejected. An angry Wade scored seven points in the next 38 seconds.

The Heat don’t expect the league to issue any further sanctions related to the foul.