1. He may not be as quick anymore, but The Flash can still make an impact
Dwyane Wade’s numbers without a day of rest in between games are quite awful this season. (To be fair, he’s 34 years old with a ton of miles on his legs, but you get the idea.)
In five games played in the second game of a back-to-back set this season, Wade is shooting just 33.3 percent from the field on 14.4 shot attempts from the field. You don’t need a calculator to tell you that those numbers are bad.
However on Monday night, Wade followed up his stellar offensive performance against the San Antonio Spurs on Christmas Day with a 21-point, five-assist showing, including two huge plays late to help the Bulls seal the deal against their division rivals from Indiana.
This is why he's Dwyane Wade: pic.twitter.com/b1QPGwGukW
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) December 27, 2016
With just over two minutes left and the Bulls clinging to a 80-78 lead, Wade drilled a tough fadeaway from the right corner to give the Bulls a tiny four-point cushion in the final 2:30.
Then, with the Bulls leading by three inside of the final 30 seconds, Wade sealed the game with the play of the game: a steal of a bad Aaron Brooks (remember that guy?) pass and a slam to ice the game away.
This is how you close a game: pic.twitter.com/nA6fMCNK7V
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) December 27, 2016
It wasn’t the most stellar performance overall from the Bulls, but when Jimmy Butler shoots 3-of-12 from the field in 40 minutes of action and the Bulls shoot under 40 percent as a team, sometimes a veteran and a future Hall of Famer can get you out of trouble.