Link

Artest gets in the way of Wade in 2nd half

By Jeff Rabjohns
[email protected]
May 16, 2004


With 9 minutes, 13 seconds left in the third quarter of Saturday's pivotal Game 5, Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade banked in a jumper, cutting Indiana's lead to seven points.

Enter Ron Artest.

End of threat.

The NBA Defensive Player of the Year aimed his energy at the Heat rookie during a key second-half stretch, holding him scoreless as the Indiana Pacers took control of the game.

Wade didn't score again until 8:43 remained in the game and Artest had been shuffled to a different assignment.

The Pacers led 83-65 at that point, on their way to the 94-83 victory at Conseco Fieldhouse that gave them a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

"Ron makes Dwyane Wade play every possession, the full possession," Pacers forward Jermaine O'Neal said. "He doesn't give him any open looks. Even when he scores, it's a tough shot he's making over him.

"If we can slow him down and make some of these other guys beat us, I think we'll be in pretty good shape."

Wade, who scored 25 and 20 points in the two games the Heat won in Miami, finished with 16 points and 10 assists Saturday. It's the fewest points he has scored in the series.

The past two games, Wade had been getting into the lane on a regular basis, causing problems for the Pacers' defense.

"Dwyane Wade is a very explosive offensive player, and his penetration is key to his success and his team's success," Pacers guard Anthony Johnson said.

"Ronnie did a great job of keeping him out of the paint and our team defense was a lot better."

Artest, who helped hold Boston's Paul Pierce to a playoff career-low nine points in a 108-85 Pacers win in the first round, took little credit for his work.

"He's still played great," Artest said of Wade. "He had 16 points and 10 assists. That's a great game, so we didn't really slow him down much."

Artest had a playoff career-high 28 points in the 100-88 loss in Game 4 but scored only 14 on Saturday. This time, his defense was the key.

"We made the decision to move Ronnie over to Wade after a couple of possessions to change up and give Wade a different look," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "I thought Ron did a solid job."

Artest has spent most of the series guarding small forward Caron Butler. Carlisle said he was concerned that putting Artest on Wade meant moving Jamaal Tinsley to Eddie Jones and Reggie Miller to Caron Butler.

"Any move you make like that, oftentimes it presents other opportunities to the opponent, but I thought we did a good job as a team helping cover for those guys," Carlisle said.

Artest's stretch on Wade was a key factor in the Pacers holding the Heat to 38 percent shooting through three quarters as they took a 73-55 lead into the final period.

"We're going to try to throw different bodies at the rookie," Miller said.

"When you have an ace in the hole in the Defensive Player of the Year who can guard (point guards, shooting guards and small forwards), you try to throw your hat in there a little bit."

Wade didn't see Artest as a big deterrent.

"There were some times I could've run right by him and did something else," Wade said. "But I was trying to run the offense and get guys the shots coach (Stan Van Gundy) wanted guys to get. I was running the offense."