Dwyane Wade: Miami Heat were tired in the fourth quarter

The San Antonio Spurs took a 1-0 lead over the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals on Thursday night, and Dwyane Wade said fatigue was a factor. The Spurs swept the Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference Finals. The Indiana Pacers pushed the Heat to seven games, which has resulted in a lot less rest.

“Obviously I thought thatwe were a little fatigued, honestly, in the fourth quarter, looking around,” Wade said after Game 1, via ASAP Sports. “We looked like a team that came off a seven‑game series. I thought we got some shots we wanted. But we were a little careless at times as well. We turned it over.

“Like you said, we did a great job all game. I think we only had three (turnovers) up to that point. But having five (turnovers) in the fourth quarter isn’t going to win you a game, especially not in the Finals. We’ll be better prepared next time and hopefully make better decisions in the fourth quarter.”

Miami led 72-69 heading into the fourth quarter, but the team was unable to pull away with Wade and LeBron James sitting to begin things. LeBron didn’t enter the fourth quarter until there were nine minutes remaining with his team still leading by three. Wade entered with 7:47 remaining, and the score was tied at 76-76 at that point. San Antonio took the lead after Wade entered and never looked back.

The fact that James and Wade started the fourth quarter of such a close game on the bench shows you that Erik Spoelstra knew his team was tired. Both teams will get two days off before Game 2 in Miami on Sunday. For the Heat’s sake, I hope the extra rest helps. They can’t afford to be down 2-0 heading to San Antonio.