Heat at Nets
THE STORY: The Miami Heat managed to pull out a marathon win on Thursday night despite missing a pair of perennial All-Stars in Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. They hope to avoid a similar roster calamity as they visit the New Jersey Nets on Saturday. Wade was sidelined by a nagging foot injury, while James sat out with an ankle tweak he suffered the game before. Miami persevered, getting 33 points and 14 rebounds in a triple-overtime win over the Atlanta Hawks. But with James and Wade both questionable for the Nets game, it's unclear whether the Heat will be able to muster up the same magic against a New Jersey team that looked solid from start to finish en route to a 97-85 triumph over host Toronto on Friday. Deron Williams celebrated his return from a one-game injury absence with 24 points and nine assists, while Kris Humphries added 16 rebounds - including nine on the offensive glass - against his former team.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Sun Sports, YES
ABOUT THE HEAT (7-1): James Jones and Shane Battier will likely be given the starting assignments for the second straight game if Wade and James can't go. With Battier racking up 49 minutes, guard Mario Chalmers doing the same and Bosh playing more than 47 minutes, the Heat are no doubt hoping to get Saturday's game wrapped up in regulation. Chalmers was the other player to step up offensively on Thursday, scoring 29 points while adding eight assists.
ABOUT THE NETS (3-6): New Jersey was by no means perfect against the Raptors - shooting just 38.8 percent - but was aided by a long-range barrage that saw the club hit 15 of 31 attempts from 3-point territory. Anthony Morrow (six 3-pointers) and Deshawn Stevenson (five) were the primary benefactors of Toronto's lax perimeter defense, while Williams overcame a 6-for-18 shooting performance by hitting 11 of 13 foul shots.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The Heat are the lone remaining unbeaten team on the road, having won their first four games away from Miami.
2. Miami has won the last seven meetings between the clubs, the last three by double digits.
3. Williams averages 18.3 points on 51.2-percent shooting and 8.8 assists in 13 career games against the Heat.