Dwyane Wade had an uneventful fourth quarter on Monday as Heat coach Erik Spoelstra sat the the 8-time All-Star down the stretch against the Utah Jazz. But he saw plenty of action during the third quarter -- and not just on the court.
Late in the third, Wade had some sort of exchange with a Jazz fan sitting courtside while getting ready to inbound the ball from the sideline. A security guard walked over to the fan and ejected him while Wade stood a few feet away. As the fan stood up about to get shown the door, he appeared to have plenty to say to Wade.
Wade then stepped aside to allow security to escort the fan out. Although it certainly looked like this guy lost his courtside seat for heckling Wade, the Heat star told Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel after the game that the fan was ejected for saying something to the referee.
With that boisterous patron gone and Miami trailing by 19 entering the fourth quarter, Wade found himself in the position of being a spectator... for the entire fourth quarter.
Wade didn't see any playing time in the final 12 minutes, finishing with 11 points, five rebounds and four assists. Chris Bosh was also benched for most of the fourth quarter until entering the game for the final 40 seconds.
"I just try and stay ready. I’m not the coach. He makes the decisions. I’m just a player," Wade said after the Heat lost their third game out of their last four, via The Salt Lake Tribune.
Will Wade and Bosh's benching be an ongoing storyline for the near-future in Miami. Or do you think it was just a one-time occasion? Without much help from two members of the team's Big Three, the Heat outscored the Jazz 32-20 in the final quarter, closing within two points in the final minutes.
"They turned that deficit around so quickly, that it was really an easy decision to keep them in there during the middle of the fourth quarter,” Spoelstra said referring to Miami's late rally that cut Utah's lead to three, per The Palm Beach Post. “Then you’ve got to make some tough decisions down the stretch
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