Heat at Clippers
Miami hasn’t notched a road win over the Los Angeles Clippers during the LeBron James era and takes another shot when the Heat visit the Staples Center on Wednesday. Miami is 0-3 in Los Angeles against the Clippers since James joined the squad and has lost five straight visits overall. The Clippers have played surprisingly well since point guard Chris Paul suffered a shoulder injury, going 12-5 without one of the league’s top players.
Miami has won five of its last six games after securing a 102-96 victory over the Detroit Pistons behind 30 points and 10 rebounds from guard Dwyane Wade on Monday. The game against the Clippers is the first of a six-game road trip and the Heat don’t play at home again until Feb. 23. Los Angeles is beginning a five-game homestand after playing nine of its last 11 on the road. The Clippers fell 116-115 at Denver on Monday when Nuggets guard Randy Foye connected on a last-second 30-footer.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, Sun Sports (Miami), Prime Ticket (Los Angeles)
ABOUT THE HEAT (34-13): Wade was 13-of-19 shooting in his stellar game against the Pistons and has put together solid back-to-back outings. Wade had 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting against the New York Knicks two days earlier as the balky knees that recently caused him to miss four straight games have calmed down. “The rest did him well,” center Chris Bosh said after the win over the Pistons. “He has a lot of spring in his legs. When he plays well, we’re a tough team to beat.”
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (34-17): Los Angeles coach Doc Rivers will be watching how his team performs against the Heat as he once again stated his own team isn’t “elite” as the contest approached. “We can be a good team the way we are playing, but if you’re going to be elite, you’re going to have to have something of a standard defensively,” Rivers said. “We’re working on it.” The Clippers have the fourth-best record in the Western Conference and forward Blake Griffin has been carrying the club with nine consecutive 20-point outings, averaging 27.2 points during the hot streak.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Wade scored 29 points as the Heat posted a 102-97 home win over the Clippers on Nov. 7.
2. Los Angeles has won seven consecutive home games and is 20-3 overall.
3. Heat F LeBron James was 9-of-19 shooting against Detroit to end a streak of shooting above 50 percent in eight consecutive games.