Game 6 of the Miami-Charlotte series turned into a battle of clutch legends. On one side, we have Dwyane Wade, who has put together a Hall of Fame career propelling the Heat in late-game situations for well over a decade. His first NBA game-winner came against the Hornets. That is, the New Orleans Hornets, who saw Wade toast Baron Davis with a vicious through-the-legs dribble, then pull up over Jamaal Magloire to win his first NBA playoff game in 2004.
Dwyane Wade and Kemba Walker turned the NBA Playoffs into a beautiful game of 1-on-1
Dwyane Wade and Kemba Walker went head-to-head Friday night, with both teams shutting up and getting the ball in the hands of their star. After some ups and downs for both players, both are once again in their zone. It was glorious
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On the other, we have Kemba Walker, whose just-let-me-have-the-ball-so-we-can-win capability has been present since college. There was no good reason for UConn to win the 2011 national championship besides Kemba Walker deciding nobody else was going to win. He (and he alone in many ways) turned the Huskies from non-contender to champion with 11 straight wins.
Friday night, Miami faced elimination and Charlotte had a chance to seal its first playoff series victory since its franchise reboot on its home floor. Each team’s hopes for a successful season boiled down to a few minutes, and both teams did the smart thing: They shut up, got out of the way, and let Wade and Walker go to war.
It was magnificent.
Walker played one of the best games of his career. He finished with a playoff career high 37 points, including 12 consecutive Charlotte points to rally the Hornets back into striking distance.
Walker’s NBA career has had its ups-and-downs. Mainly downs, as he’s been an inefficient shooter on a struggling Charlotte team. There have been points when I’ve wondered if he’ll ever do anything resembling his brilliant refuse-to-lose college performances in the NBA.
But this season and this series, Kemba played like that Kemba. Friday night was his second 30-point outing and second double-digit fourth quarter of the week. Kemba’s happy place is with the ball in a tight game and 10 opposing eyes staring him down. After five confusing NBA seasons, he finally found it.
But Wade answered every call. He battled back with 10 consecutive Heat points. He hit this 3-point dagger:
Then, he blocked Walker (probably a foul but heyyyyyyyy whatever justice for Game 5 I guess) to seal the deal at the other end of the court:
Wade went 2-for-2 from three in his takeover. For a lot of 6'5 guards, that wouldn't be that crazy. But these were Wade's first made threes since DECEMBER. Since hitting a single three against the Brooklyn Nets 135 days ago, Wade had missed 21 consecutive attempts from beyond the arc. Wade was never a good three-point shooter — his career high from deep is 31.7 percent — but in a league increasingly dependent on shooting from beyond the arc, Wade's ability and desire to hit threes completely left him.
Or so we thought.
With a team’s season on the line in the closing minutes of a tight elimination game, a 15-percent 3-point shooter who hadn’t hit a three in literal months decided to launch not just one, but two threes, both with plenty of time on the shot clock, both out of the rhythm of the team’s offense, both with players contesting. This should be grounds for immediate NBA exile.
But it’s Dwyane freakin’ Wade. He drilled both, and we were stupid for imagining something logical would happen.
Everything Wade is doing right now is kinda miraculous. By the time LeBron James got to Miami, it seemed like Wade was best as a second man. By the time James left Miami, it was easy to wonder whether a Wade bereft of his signature springiness and athleticism could even be effective in that role.
Wade’s happy place is being the leading man of an NBA playoff team. After a few years where that seemed unlikely, Wade is there once again. He’s getting older, but Wade always was pretty good in the closing minutes.
As brilliant as basketball can be as a team game, there’s an aspect of it that’s best when two dudes throw all strategy to the side and try to outscore each other. They weren’t guarding each other, but this was a game of 1-on-1 with eight highly paid friends looking on. Heaven is a playground, and it’s pretty great when heaven decides to show up on an NBA court.
On the playground, the person who wins the last game feels like a champion, regardless of how the other three or nine or 14 games went. It’s only fitting this Heat-Hornets series comes down to a decisive Game 7.
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