National Basketball Association

Wade had knee drained before flop?

Published May. 21, 2012 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Dwyane Wade flunked in Miami's Game 3 loss against the Indiana Pacers after having his sore left knee drained, ESPN reported Monday, citing "multiple sources" close to the All-Star guard and his team.

Wade looked completely out of sorts after he went 2-13 from the floor for five points Thursday night, while turning the ball over five times, in the embarrassing 94-75 defeat. Wade didn't hit his first shot until the third quarter.

He erased memories of the horror show Sunday night with a typically dominant playoff performance, combining with LeBron James for 70 points in a critical 101-93 Game 4 victory that leveled the series at 2-2.

Wade later declined to comment on the claims that his struggles in Game 3 could be explained by the soreness that required a minor draining procedure. "If I'm in uniform, [I'm] ready to play," he told reporters.

Wade had 30 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Heat on Sunday night, alongside James' 40 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists, as Miami returned fire in an intriguing best-of-seven series that sees the teams head back to Florida for Game 5 on Tuesday.