Dwyane Wade still has the range

This is Dwyane Wade nailing a game-winning shot over Ben Simmons in a close, critical game between the Heat and Sixers with playoff implications galore. Miami won, 102-101, and next month has a chance to even up the season series. A win Tuesday would have clinched the tiebreaker for Philly.

The shot from Wade was extra spicy because the veteran guard intentionally fouled Ben Simmons in a tie game with 23 seconds left ... just so he could get the ball back with time to win. Wade had been fouled on a three just prior — is there a worse idea than fouling clutch-as-a-sports-car-on-a-windy-mountain-road Wade on a late-game three? No — and then he tied the game from the line. There was miscommunication on whether the Heat would foul Simmons in a tie game situation; Wade did it, Simmons (a poor shooter) hit one, and Wade got the ball back.

Then he did his thing.

There is a non-zero chance that we’ll get Wade and the Heat meeting LeBron James and the Cavaliers in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Wouldn’t that be something after Cleveland handed Wade back to Miami out of kindness?

By the way, Wade wore the name of Joaquin Oliver on his shoes. Oliver, who went by the nickname “Guac,” was buried in Wade’s jersey last week after being murdered in the Parkland school shooting.

CHI 103, CHA 118
BKN 123, CLE 129
PHI 101, MIA 102
WAS 107, MIL 104
SAC 99, POR 116
LAC 122, DEN 120

The Awful Eight went 0-3 on Tuesday. The Suns have the worst record, followed by the Hawks and Kings in a tie for No. 2, followed by Orlando at No. 4, Memphis at No. 5, Dallas at No. 6, Brooklyn at 7, and Chicago at 8. The Bulls have lost five straight but are struggling to move down the standings because everyone else is losing most nights, too.

An absolutely crushing loss for the Nuggets, who led by 15 and collapsed, losing their grip on the No. 8 seed in the process. They did it in Paul Millsap’s return, no less. The Clippers, they have a swagger about them. Until this game, though, Nikola Jokic was on the most potent run of his young career.

Canonical piece from Zach Lowe on the late, great Drazen Petrovic, and what he meant to everyone around him. This plus the “Once Brothers” 30 for 30 doc on Petrovic and Vlade Divac tell the whole story.

Quite an exclusive club for James: 30,000 points, 8,000 assists, 8,000 rebounds. No one else has ever done it.

The Cavaliers still have a lot to figure out.

This is extraordinary: James unloaded on the NCAA, calling it corrupt and essentially stating that had he been forced to attend college for a year as current NBA prospects are, he would have committed NCAA violations to get paid. Phenomenal.

Paul Flannery has the seven key storylines to watch down the stretch of the season, including the untrustworthy Raptors and Rockets.

Brilliant Tim Cato piece on the night Stephen Curry dropped 54 points on the Knicks at the Garden and changed basketball forever.

Really strong piece from Ricky O’Donnell on the advantages college basketball still holds over the G League for top prospects. He’s right, and the proof is no top prospects ever choose the G League over the NCAA.

Sam Amick has some of the more powerful people in NBA circles talking about the NCAA corruption scandal, including players’ union chief Michele Roberts.

Are the Wizards better without John Wall? We have to start asking.

Jon Stewart’s reaction to a JaVale McGee turnaround swish is everything and more.

Ray Allen on traveling to Auschwitz.

There’s a New Zealand hoops prospect who a) is named after Kobe Bryant, b) appears to be one of the first success stories out of the NBA’s academy in Australia, and c) has siblings named after James and Kawhi Leonard. We need this family in our lives.

The serious case for Anthony Davis as NBA MVP.

The NBA recently told teams it would punish actual tanking swiftly and harshly.

On rooting (or not) for the Mavericks after revelations about the culture of abuse and harassment in the organization.

Nine games for you on Wednesday. ESPN has Warriors-Wizards at 8 p.m. ET and Rockets-Clippers (the tunnel rematch ... minus Blake Griffin) at 10:30. (Yes, the Warriors are in D.C. Instead of the White House, they’ll be visiting the National Museum of African-American History and Culture with children from Kevin Durant’s Maryland hometown.) Full schedule here.

And finally: this Kemba Walker dance on Cristiano Felicio is so mean and so delightful.

Be excellent to each other.