NEW YORK — Dwyane Wade capped his career in style, with one last triple-double before heading off to retirement.
The Brooklyn Nets’ destination is Philadelphia, where they are headed as the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Wade had 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in his final NBA game, which the Nets won by beating the Miami Heat 113-94 on Wednesday night to finish their remarkable turnaround at 42-40.
With close friends LeBron James, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony leading the cheers from their courtside seats, Wade had his fifth career triple-double in three quarters. He fittingly secured it with a pass to Udonis Haslem, his teammate of 15 years who plays sparingly now and made his only start of the season.
A night after scoring 30 points in his final game in Miami, Wade showed one more time that he’s walking away with his skills intact.
He played 36 minutes, dribbling out the shot clock the final time he had the ball before checking out with 10 seconds remaining. Then it was time for a lengthy postgame celebration on the court with teammates and friends.
D’Angelo Russell had 21 points on seven 3-pointers for the Nets, who will face the third-seeded 76ers beginning this weekend in their first postseason appearance since 2015, one that seemed unlikely when they were 8-18 in December. But they went 34-22 from there for their first winning record since going 44-38 in 2013-14 - when they were knocked out by Wade’s Heat in the second round.
The game mattered only to the Nets, who quickly ended any fears of finishing seventh and having to face the Toronto Raptors in the first round.
But that was secondary to a final chance to celebrate Wade, the three-time NBA champion who was ending his 16th and final NBA season.
He was loudly cheered from the moment he emerged alone from the tunnel for pregame layups. Fans - egged on at one point by Paul and Anthony - chanted “We want Wade! We want Wade!” when he was on the bench, even though the 37-year-old guard had played a season-high 35 minutes Tuesday and coach Erik Spoelstra warned before the game that it probably wouldn’t be that way again.
But there was no keeping Wade down for long. It took him a little bit to get going, as Jarrett Allen added Wade to the list of stars whose shots he’s blocked this season - a list that included James.
The Heat hoped the final game would matter, but the Nets and Orlando Magic had clinched spots over the weekend to leave only one spot left coming into the last week. Miami was eliminated from contention for it despite its victory Tuesday.
TIP-INS
Heat: Haslem finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds. … Wade passed Elgin Baylor (23,149 points) to move into 29th place on the NBA’s career list. He finished with 23,165.
Nets: Starters Joe Harris (toe) and DeMarre Carroll (right wrist) sat out, though coach Kenny Atkinson said they would be ready for the playoff opener. … Shabazz Napier scored 20 points off the bench.
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