Tonight at 7:00 p.m. ET the Brooklyn Nets (32-30) will continue their quest to rise up the Eastern Conference playoff chart in Miami, where the defending champion Heat (44-17) await. Watch the game on ESPN or live stream it free by clicking this link. Nets fans can hear the game on 101.9 WFAN FM, while Heat fans can tune in to the radio broadcast on 560 WQAM.
Brooklyn has withstood a truly putrid start to the season, and an early season-ending injury to star center Brook Lopez, to stay above .500. Reigning MVP LeBron James noticed.
"(The Nets) are playing some great basketball right now," James said. "We look forward to playing a team that's been playing good." The Heat haven't been playing great basketball, but they may have righted the ship Monday night by beating down the Wizards.
"We needed this win," Dwyane Wade said after a 22-point effort. "We wasn't down on ourselves, but we really don't like losing two games in a row and we lost three. So this was a good way to pick it back up, and now we have a great week at home."
The Nets are coming off a major win as well, a four-point victory over the Atlantic Division leading Raptors. Paul Pierce injured his shoulder in the effort, and played through it en route to 10 fourth quarter points. "I knew the implications of this game. Maybe if it was a different type of game, (I sit out)," Pierce said.
"But this was one of our biggest games of the year. Division rival, a lot on the line tonight, so you can always pen me in with those type of games."
Pierce is averaging a career-low 13.2 points this year, but has re-vitalized the Nets offense as a stretch power forward. In addition to his floor-stretching, Kevin Garnett and Andrei Kirilenko could return from injury to pitch in.
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