Miami – Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade winced as he got to his feet Wednesday after talking to the media at the NBA Finals. After slowly going down the podium’s stairs, he walked gingerly to a small flatbed vehicle, which whisked him away.
Wade was protecting his ailing left knee.
“Can I drive this?” Wade asked the flatbed driver as they left. “I always wanted to drive this.”
Wade has been driving the Heat toward its first championship, but there is concern his latest injury could derail the quest entering Game 4 tonight against Dallas, which holds a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
The 6-foot-4, 212-pound Wade didn’t practice Wednesday because of the injury he suffered with 10:41 left in the third quarter of Miami’s 98-96 comeback win Tuesday in Game 3. Heat center Shaquille O’Neal accidentally bumped his left shoulder into Wade’s knee. Wade, who scored 42 points and led the Heat’s comeback from a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter, said his knee is stiff and sore. But he will play tonight.
“Going to bed at night and waking up, it’s very sore,” said Wade, who scored 15 points in the fourth quarter Tuesday. “The only thing I can continue to do is do what I’m ordered to do, and that’s a lot of icing and steam all day. I’m confident my training staff … will get me as close as I can be to 100 percent by (tonight).”
The former Marquette star said he hasn’t taken any pain- killing injections and doesn’t plan to. “I hope not, anyway,” he said. “I’m scared of needles.”
Wade has been bothered by ankle, back, rib and wrist injuries this season. Earlier in the season he also was slowed by the flu.
He has no explanation for his trouble staying healthy.
“Wrong place, wrong time,” he said, adding, “I don’t dwell on it.”
Dallas guard Devin Harris rolled his eyes when told how Wade limped to his media conference, then was driven away.
“It’s a difficult game. Stuff happens,” Harris said. “But you have got to expect him to come back (tonight). He plays hard. He’s diving around. He’s throwing his body down a lot. You see him get carried off. But you have to expect him to come back.”
Checking the clock
The NBA is investigating clock problems that occurred late in Game 3. In a statement, the NBA said: “The league office has determined that the game timing system malfunctioned on two separate occasions in the fourth period. With 45.3 seconds remaining, the clock continued to run for 4.3 seconds after a foul was called on Jason Terry of the Mavericks, and with 4.3 seconds remaining in the game, the clock continued to run for 0.9 seconds after a foul was called on Udonis Haslem of the Heat.”
The problem was a malfunction in the electronic device worn by one of the game officials. The equipment will be replaced, the NBA said.
The league also is investigating an incident in which two women sneaked past security into the Mavericks’ locker room after Game 3.
Footnotes
Will losing Game 3 after holding a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter affect Dallas? “It’s always a concern,” Dallas coach Avery Johnson said. “But normally, normally we respond well after losses.” … Now that O’Neal is talking to the media again, notebooks are filling up. Asked about the criticism directed toward him earlier in the Finals, he said: “I’ve been scrutinized every day of my life. So it’s nothing new. Anything that a person writes is not going to make me cry or go drink rat poison. I’m more harder on myself than any one of you can ever be on me.”
Marc J. Spears can be reached at 303-820-5449 or mspears@denverpost.com.
