USA - Haslem set to give Heat on a lift

MIAMI (NBA) - Miami forward Udonis Haslem is expected to play in Game Three of the NBA Finals on Tuesday night after suffering a left shoulder injury that knocked him out of Game Two.

According to Heat spokesman Tim Donovan, Haslem had X-rays on his shoulder Monday that were negative. He has a left shoulder strain and contusion but will be available.

Haslem suffered the injury in the second quarter when he blocked a driving layup by Dallas Mavericks forward Jason Terry. Both players went hard to the floor, but Haslem landed on his left elbow, aggravating the joint where the arm meets the collarbone.

Haslem remained in the game for the rest of the period, adding a driving dunk just over two minutes later. He started the second half but sat down in pain at the 10:03 mark, spending the rest of the game on the bench with his shoulder wrapped in ice.

After the game, Haslem was certain he would not miss any action, even though he had yet to have X-rays.

"It's all right. I'll go home, work on it and I'll be ready for the next game," he said. "There's no doubt I'll be playing. I mean, this is the Finals."

Haslem has 10 points and 10 rebounds through the first two games. He had done a credible job on Mavericks superstar forward Dirk Nowitzki, who struggled in Game One and did a fair amount of his damage in Game Two after Haslem departed.

Four on the floor
The four-point plays by Mavericks swingman Jerry Stackhouse and forward Josh Howard were the seventh and eighth in NBA history and marked the first time in the Finals that two had occurred in the same game.

The three-point shot was instituted in 1979 but there was not a four-point play in the Finals until Philadelphia's Andrew Toney made one in Game Three of the 1982 series at Los Angeles. It was another three years until Boston's Scott Wedman converted another, also at LA in 1985.

Then they began coming in flurries. In 1996, Chicago's Toni Kukoc had one in the opener and Seattle's Hersey Hawkins responded in Game Five. In 2000, Glen Rice of the Lakers converted one in Game Four and Indiana's Reggie Miller answered in the next contest.

Take a walk
Miami Heat coach Pat Riley insists forward Antoine Walker is not a member of Miami's "supporting cast."

Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade have received most of the plaudits in the Heat's run to the NBA Finals.

Walker received a pair of All-Star berths in seven years in Boston but has seen his role reduced in stints with Dallas, Atlanta and Miami over the last three years. However, Walker has been a consistent scorer thus far in the Finals. He is averaging 18.5 points while shooting 43% (15 of 34) from the field, including seven of 16 from the arc. He has added 10 rebounds and six assists but also has eight turnovers, including six in Game One.

"He's always been a starter," Heat coach Pat Riley said. "The guys is 20 points and nine rebounds in nine years in his career (actually 19 and eight-plus in 10).  I think it's thrown out there a little bit.

"That's a personal thing on his part. We've never had any discussion over it. But I think when a player hears that over and over and over again, then maybe they could take it personal."

A bad sign
The Heat have lost consecutive post-season games by double digits for the first time since 2001, when they were swept by the Charlotte Hornets in three games in the opening round.
"I've been in a lot of play-off games and I've gotten beat by 40, 30, 25, won by 25 or 30," said Riley, who was the coach duringthe sweep in 2001. "It doesn't make any difference. The whole thing is about the next game and trying to leave this behind us. Maybe it will set a fire in us a little bit to do something a little bit different than we did down (in Dallas)."

After losing to the Hornets, the Heat fell on hard times thereafter and did not return to the play-offs until 2004, when Stan Van Gundy took over as coach for Riley and Dwyane Wade was a rookie.

PA Sport