When Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh united last summer, their goal was an NBA championship.
“The Heatles” took another step to that goal with a strong collective effort in Miami’s 100-94 Game 3 victory at Philadelphia, giving the Heat a 3-0 lead in the series.
Wade delivered a monster game with 32 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. James tallied 24 points, 15 rebounds and six assists. And Bosh chipped in with 19 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots.
“This is what we envisioned,” James told reporters after the game.
The victory pushed the Heat to the brink of becoming the first team to finish out a series. Miami will get its chance at noon Sunday.
“We’re a desperate team right now,” James said. “We want to continue to play that way.”
Their big nights earned them all a place on Thursday’s Studs and Duds.
STUDS
Miami G Dwyane Wade: Went for 32 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and two blocked shots in the Heat’s 100-94 Game 3 victory over Philadelphia.
Portland G Wesley Matthews: Tallied 25 points, three assists, two rebounds, two steals and was plus-5 in the Trail Blazers’ 97-92 victory over Dallas.
Miami F LeBron James: Notched 24 points, 15 rebounds, six assists and was plus-8 in the Heat’s victory over the 76ers.
Chicago G Derrick Rose: Scored 23 points, including the go-ahead layup with 17.8 seconds left, to power the Bulls to an 88-84 Game 3 victory over Indiana. Rose also added four steals, three rebounds and two assists and was plus-6.
Chicago F Luol Deng: Went for 21 points, six rebounds and six assists and was a team-best plus-9 in the Bulls’ victory over the Pacers.
Portland F LaMarcus Aldridge: Scored 20 points and grabbed four rebounds in the Trail Blazers’ victory over the Mavericks.
Miami F Chris Bosh: Produced 19 points, six rebounds, three blocked shots and was plus-6 in the Heat’s victory at Philadelphia.
Portland G Brandon Roy: Came off the bench to produce 16 points, four assists and was a team-best plus-7 in the Trail Blazers’ victory over Dallas.
Portland G Andre Miller: Went for 16 points, seven assists and was plus-6 in the Trail Blazers’ triumph over the Mavericks.
Chicago C Joakim Noah: Tallied 11 points, 10 rebounds, four blocked shots and was plus-6 in the Bulls’ victory at Indiana.
Dallas G Jason Terry: Came off the bench to score 29 points, seven assists and was plus-7 in the Mavericks’ loss at the Trail Blazers.
Dallas F Dirk Nowitzki: Went for 25 points, nine rebounds and two assists in the Mavericks’ loss at Portland.
Philadelphia F Elton Brand: Notched 21 points, 11 rebounds and was plus-1 in the 76ers’ loss to Miami.
Indiana F Danny Granger: Scored 21 points, grabbed four rebounds, produced two assists and snatched two steals in the Pacers’ loss to Chicago.
Philadelphia G Jrue Holiday: Tallied 20 points and eight assists in the 76ers’ loss to Miami.
DUDS
Indiana G Paul George: Went 1-for-9 from the field and was minus-2 in the Pacers’ loss at Chicago.
Philadelphia F Thaddeus Young: Limited to four points on 1-for-8 field-goal shooting, had two turnovers and was minus-7 in the 76ers’ loss to Miami.
Indiana F Tyler Hansbrough: Clanked through a 3-for-12 effort from the field and was a team-worst minus-13 in the Pacers’ loss to the Bulls.
Dallas G Jason Kidd: Went 3-for-9 from the field with five turnovers and was minus-1 in the Mavericks’ loss at Portland.
Indiana’s offense: The Pacers shot 37.9 percent from the field and converted only one 3-pointer in their loss to Chicago.