The Miami Heat avenged their 111-105 loss to the Brooklyn Nets that came December 28th, 2015, with a 102-98 win at the Barclays Center. Brooklyn entered the contest win an impressive win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night while Miami took down the Chicago Bulls last night.

Brooklyn Tallies High Scoring First Half

The Nets started the game converting on 9 of their first 11 shots of the game. They displayed a 57 percent shooting performance in the first 12 minutes of the game, which included a 9-0 run and were up 29-24. Andrea Bargnani helped increase the Brooklyn lead by scoring 13 points in the second stanza of the game. By halftime, the Nets remained on top with a six point lead and made five of nine shots from beyond the arc.

Nets Record Lowest Scoring Quarter Of Game

Miami began the third frame on a 6-0 run to tie the game. Halfway through the period, Brooklyn went one of seven from the floor scoring only three points and committing five turnovers after limiting their turnovers to just three in the first half. The Heat notched eight steals in the quarter and outscored the Nets 26-16.  

Dwyane Wade Comes up Big In Clutch Time

Points in the paint continued to damage Brooklyn with Dwyane Wade aggressively attacking the rim. Wade scored 11 points in the final 4:53 minutes of regulation. With 1:54 left in the fourth period, the Nets had a chance to regain the lead being down 94-93. Thaddeus Young attempted a hook shot, but it did not fall down. Wade then cut to the basket and converted on a layup while being fouled. He went onto make the awarded free throw. Luol Deng had a steal which turned into another Wade basket. Donald Sloan responded by draining a three-pointer. Wayne Ellington then attempted a contested three-pointer to try and tie the game but the shot did not go in. Chris Bosh was then fouled and made one of his two free throws, to help secure a victory for Miami.

Top Performers

Bargnani lead the way for the Nets with 20 points off the bench. Bosh had some positive things to say about Bargnani, his former teammate in Toronto, “I knew he was going to be up for this game. It's like old times in Toronto when we used to go at each other. He’s got that high release, his catch-and-go game is very good”. Johnson added 15 points and Lopez finished with 13. Young had 12 points while Bojan Bogdanovic chipped in 11 off the bench. Bosh and Wade concluded the night with 27 points respectively for Miami. Rookie Justise Winslow recorded 13 points.

Final Stats

Despite shooting 51 percent for the game and making 50 percent of their three point attempts, the Nets failing to contain Miami’s inside scoring is what mainly cost them the game. Brooklyn finished with 16 turnovers and were outrebounded 37-32. After last night's Victory over Chicago, Wade said, “If we’re getting in the paint, that allows us to be aggressive scoring the ball”. The Heat seem to have taken Wade’s advice scoring 50 points in the paint and earning their second straight win.

Other Things To Note

-In the month of January, Johnson is shooting 49 percent from the field and 52 percent from beyond the arc. Nets' Head coach Tony Brown said “I see him more engaged, more into the game versus being a guy that is just spotting up on the perimeter waiting for the ball to find him”.

-Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside were out with injuries.

-Wade moved up to the 43rd place in the NBA career scoring list passing Clifford Robinson.

Up Next

-The Nets Concluded their four-game home stand and will now be on the road for the next two games. Their next opponents will be Deron Williams and the Dallas Mavericks, on Friday, January 29th, at 8:30 P.M. EST.

-Miami will face the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, January, 29th, at 8:00 P.M. EST.  

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