Heat Check: Dwyane Wade marvelous, but help hard to find

Heat Check: Dwyane Wade marvelous, but help hard to find

Published Dec. 17, 2014 10:36 p.m. ET

MIAMI -- Playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Miami Heat were lethargic and off-kilter in a 105-87 loss to the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.

Looking nothing like the team that beat the Brooklyn Nets the previous night, Miami faced an early double-digit deficit due to another slow start and allowed the Jazz to shoot 65 percent from the field in the first quarter. Though the Heat had turned in a complete team effort in Brooklyn, it was a one-man effort this time around, with Dwyane Wade leading the charge again.

Instead it was the Jazz, entering the game with a 6-19 record, who looked like the superior team, consistently beating the Heat to the ball, out-hustling them and responding to each run to keep the lead at double digits for virtually the entire game.

For the second game in as many nights, Wade was a dominant force on the court with a season-high 42 points to go with four rebounds and three assists. But unlike Tuesday, he had little support. The rest of the starters combined to score just 17 points, and Miami's offense looked lost when Wade was on the bench. The next highest scorer was Mario Chalmers with 11.

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Miami has now lost their past four home games -- all by double digits -- and missed out on an opportunity to even their record to .500.

THE TURNING POINT

Miami started the third quarter with a 14-7 run, but Utah answered back with a 10-2 run to maintain control of the game.

THE DIFFERENCE MAKER

Hayward had a strong, all-around game with 29 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

STAT OF THE GAME

Wade did everything he could to get his team back on track with 23 first half points, his highest-scoring half of the season. When he left the game for good with a minute left in the game, he had scored exactly half of his team's total points.

WHAT'S NEXT

Miami continues its homestand when it hosts the Washington Wizards on Friday at 7:30 p.m.

You can follow Surya Fernandez on Twitter @SuryaHeatNBA or email him at SuryaFoxSports@gmail.com.

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