Dwyane Wade nailed the game-winning shot for the Miami Heat while honoring one of the victims of the Parkland shooting
- Dwyane Wade played hero on Tuesday night, scoring 15 of the Miami Heat's final 17 points, including the game-winning shot with just seconds left in the game.
- It was an emotional game for Wade, who was paying tribute to Joaquin Oliver, a victim of the Parkland shooting who was buried in Wade's jersey.
- Wade was emotional when speaking about Oliver after the game, and has dedicated his performance the rest of the season to him.
Dwyane Wade showed that he still had a superstar gear in him on Tuesday night, taking over for the Miami Heat in the final minutes of a hard-fought and emotional game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Scoring 15 of the Heat's final 17 points in the game, Wade looked like a former version of himself for the night - taking charge of the Heat and almost single-handedly carrying them across the finish line to victory.
His biggest plays came in the final seconds of the game. After drilling three free throws to tie the game at 100-100 with just 24 seconds left, Wade made the slightly surprising move of intentionally fouling Ben Simmons, sending him to the line. Simmons is only a 56% free throw shooter, but fouling so late in a tie game is still rarely used strategy.
It worked out for the Heat. Simmons missed one of his free throws, and on his final possession of the game, Wade hit a jumper to put the Heat up 102-101. After J.J. Redick missed a final shot for the Sixers, the Heat secured the win.
It wasn't just any other win for the Heat superstar.
Wade was playing in honor of Joaquin Oliver, one of the victims of the Parkland shooting that took the lives of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Oliver was a a big fan of Wade's, and was buried in his jersey. Wade dedicated the rest of his season to his memory, and had written his name on his shoes before the game on Tuesday night.
After the game, Wade was emotional while speaking about Oliver.
"You really can't put that in words. You hurt for the family," Wade said. "If you ever get the opportunity to speak to them, you just try to hope the time where he was alive that you were able to bring some type of joy to his life and something memorable. A story that his family and you guys can talk about."