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Refreshed Wade, Heat to test Celtics

Mar 18, 2009 - 5:58 AM By Dan Pieringer Stats Writer

Miami (36-30) at Boston (50-18), 7:00 p.m. EDT

BOSTON (AP) -- After carrying the Miami Heat to three straight victories, Dwyane Wade was understandably exhausted as the streak came to an end in the team's last game.

Two nights off before a meeting with the struggling and injury-plagued Boston Celtics should help the league's leading scorer bounce back.

Wade and the Heat go for their second win over the Celtics in a week when the clubs square off Wednesday night in Boston.

Wade averaged 43.3 points on 53.8 percent shooting and also had 6.7 rebounds, 9.3 assists and 4.0 steals to lead Miami (36-30) during last week's winning streak. Despite that, Wade failed to repeat as the league's Eastern Conference player of the week, losing out to LeBron James.

The All-Star guard also averaged more than 47.0 minutes per game in that stretch, because the Heat needed double-overtime to beat Chicago 130-127 on March 9 and triple-overtime to get past Utah 140-129 on Saturday.

After playing a career-high 52-plus minutes against the Jazz, a weary Wade was held to 18 points on 8-for-21 shooting in an 85-77 loss at Philadelphia on Sunday.

"I didn't have the energy," said Wade, who still played 34-plus minutes.

The same was true for his teammates. Miami was held to nine points in the fourth quarter and combined to shoot 2-for-17 from the field in the final 10 minutes.

"We were probably fatigued," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. "There are games where you can't close them out."

The Heat were idle Monday and Tuesday, giving Wade rest that could come in handy against the Celtics, who haven't looked very fresh lately either. Boston (50-18) has lost four of five to fall to 9-9 since its 12-game winning streak from Jan. 11-Feb. 3.

The Celtics looked particularly sluggish defensively in a 127-121 loss at Chicago on Tuesday. It was the highest point total allowed by Boston since the team acquired Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett before last season, setting it up for its 17th NBA championship.

Part of the problem Tuesday was the continued absence of Garnett. The league's reigning defensive player of the year missed his 12th consecutive game with a knee injury. He's expected to return soon, but won't play Wednesday.

Allen could join him on the sideline after hyperextending his right elbow against the Bulls.

"It's all predicated on how I feel (Wednesday)," Allen said.

Leon Powe, filling in for Garnett in the starting lineup, was also injured Tuesday. He bruised his right knee when he ran into Chicago's Ben Gordon while trying to set a screen and will be re-evaluated Wednesday.

The depleted Celtics could have a hard time keeping up with the Heat, who had six players score in double figures in their 107-99 home win over Boston last Wednesday. Wade led Miami with 32 points and sealed the victory with a 3-pointer with 34 seconds left.

Allen had 27 points and Powe added 23 with 13 rebounds in that game. Paul Pierce, the only fully healthy member of Boston's "Big Three," added 16 points on 5-for-10 shooting.

The Celtics, who won their first meeting with the Heat on Jan. 21, are just one half-game ahead of Orlando for second place in the Eastern Conference. Miami is fifth, three games back of Atlanta for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.