Dwyane Wade ended his storied career with a triple-double of 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists Wednesday night as the visiting Miami Heat were dealt a 113-94 loss to the Brooklyn Nets, who clinched sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
Apr 10, 2019; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade (3) signals to the crowd after scoring in the third quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports.
The Nets honored Wade with a video tribute in pregame introductions by highlighting some of his notable shots against them over the course of a 16-year career while the text on the screen read “Thanks for the Memories.”
With longtime friends LeBron James, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony sitting courtside, Wade recorded his fifth career triple-double in his 1,054th regular-season game since entering the league as the fifth overall pick out of Marquette in 2003.
Wade played 36 minutes and received a loud hand from fans each time he touched the ball. He made 10 of 28 shots, and his last points were a 3-pointer with 2:48 remaining.
Wade exited the court for the last time with 10 seconds remaining. Before leaving the court, he embraced teammates on the floor, then hugged coach Erik Spoelstra and waved to the crowd.
After the final buzzer, Wade exchanged hugs at midcourt with Anthony, James, and Paul and posed with pictures with his longtime friends. He then gave his jersey to Anthony.
Appropriately, Wade reached his first triple-double since Jan. 13, 2006, by connecting with longtime teammate Udonis Haslem for a jumper in the final minute of the third quarter.
Brooklyn (42-40) secured the sixth seed and will open its first postseason series since 2014-15 this weekend in Philadelphia. The Nets also clinched their first winning season since 2013-14 by going 34-22 over their last 56 games since Dec. 7.
D’Angelo Russell, who ended his rookie season by appearing in Kobe Bryant’s last game in 2016 with the Los Angeles Lakers, led the Nets with 21 points.
After Brooklyn took a 63-47 lead into halftime, Russell hit four three 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the third quarter, including three in a span of 46 seconds, as the Nets extended their lead to 75-50. Brooklyn brought a 92-71 edge into the fourth.
Miami opened the fourth on a 13-5 run and was within 97-84 when Wade re-entered the game with 7:20 left.
—Field Level Media