Heat's Hot Third Quarters Setting Tone

Filed under: Heat

Perhaps the best kept secret that's been responsible for the Miami Heat's winning ways this season has been their utter dominance in the third quarter. However, it doesn't appear to have been lost on Dwyane Wade as the Heat were facing a 14-point deficit to start the second half against the Golden State Warriors Saturday night. He had good reason to be walking back on the court after the break with plenty of confidence in his team.



He was only half joking when asked when he knew the Heat would make their comeback. "When the third quarter started," he laughed.



"I know my team. When we came out for the third quarter we knew we were going to make a run and turn it around because we knew what we had to do. And we did it."



Once the quarter had ended, the Warriors had given up all but one point of their lead and the game got away from them in crunch time. It's a recurring theme throughout the season as the Heat has outscored their opponent in the third quarter in all but 9 of their 37 games. The Heat rank first in the league in points (26.5) and scoring margin (+4.5) in the third quarter. They also boast the highest average margin through three quarters (+8.7 points), affording them breathing room entering the final stage of games.

 

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Full story at http://nba.fanhouse.com/2011/01/03/heats-hot-third-quarters-setting-tone/