Miami’s Wade missed game against Hawks with sore knee

Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside shows emotion after scoring in a game against the Portland Trailblazers.

Miami now sit fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 30-24 record and look well placed to make a return to the post-season after missing out last season. “We knew we had to come out with a lot of energy. The good thing is we have a game tomorrow”.

“We easily could have said we had guys out, we could have said we lost this game, that’s the reason for it, ” Deng said.

Bradley Beal paced the Wizards with 19 points on 8-of-20 shooting in 29 minutes off the bench because the Wizards want to limit his workload and ensure his right fibula is not overworked. As a 6’7 Forward, Winslow is capable of handling the ball, pushing the tempo of the game, and is tall and athletic enough to be able to score on, or play defense on, most Guards and Forwards in the league.

“They outplayed us”, Wizards coach Randy Whittman said.

“We wanted to play a faster pace”, Spoelstra said. “We just didn’t have the fire we needed”. Due to the fact McRoberts played so well, having Chris Bosh out of the lineup and having a short leash with Whiteside, you should expect to see more players from the bench step up.

The Heat traded center Chris Andersen and forward Jarnell Stokes this week.

There were other nifty snapshots: A Josh Richardson three, a Beno Udrih spinning drive and basket, a snazzy Josh McRoberts dribbling exhibition and an alley-oop to Whiteside for a dunk, and a Justise Winslow running hook shot with the shot clock ticking down.

Though it’s just the first game back from the break, which is typically a game teams can come out slow in, a loss to a depleted roster like Miami’s can cause some concern.

Wade missed his second game in a row with left knee soreness, but an MRI revealed no structural damage.

“I couldn’t wait to get back out here”, Whiteside said. But it’s nothing I’m overly concerned about.

The Hawks had 21 turnovers, including five from Dennis Schroder, in the first game after the All-Star break.

When asked whether the All-Star break rust could have contributed to the sloppiness, coach Mike Budenholzer said, “They (Miami) are coming off the same break”. “[But that character] comes out on the court”.

“Me and Tyler watched the game together at my house”, he said.

The Heat led by double digits the entire second half. Amare Stoudemire had six points and six rebounds in his 11th start of the season….

Whiteside had served a one-game suspension during Friday’s 115-111 victory at Atlanta for throwing an elbow against San Antonio on February 9.

Hawks: G Kirk Hinrich, obtained from Chicago on Thursday, had his flight to Atlanta delayed Friday night.

The Hawks will be back in action at Philips Arena on Saturday night against the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Wizards got to within 57-44 after guard John Wall’s jumper with 24 seconds remaining in the second quarter. Even without starting, he went to halftime with a double-double (12 points, 14 boards).

The Hawks enter this game hoping for similar success after blowing out the Bulls 113-90 the last time they played.