Shawn Marion didn't play the fourth quarter or overtime of Friday's 119-115 victory at Sacramento. He said he was "a little bit" surprised but he and coach Erik Spoelstra discussed the matter and everything seems in order.
"He said he forgot about me," Marion said. "Mistakes happen. He said the team that was out there, they were on a run. Might as well go ahead and see if they could finish." Spoelstra said he wasn't planning on keeping Marion on the bench, but the unit he had on the court was playing well. They helped Miami overcome a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit.
Spoelstra said Marion handled the situation in a professional manner.
"He was great," Spoelstra said of his leading rebounder, third-leading scorer and best perimeter defender. "We talked and he said, 'Hey, no worries.' He was up there cheering and encouraging all of our teammates."
Marion said he'd never been held out of the fourth quarter and overtime of a game.
"I was there for the team, though," he said. "That's what it's about."
Told he was on his way to a double-double, Marion, who ended with eight points and seven rebounds, agreed.
"I could have easily had 20 (points)," he said. "It's OK. We got a good win."
Spoelstra consistently says the "end of the bench is fluid," meaning there's no set finishing unit.
"Sometimes you don't know, you can't predict it sometimes," he said. "The group we had out there you don't necessarily go into the game thinking that would be the one that would impact the game that greatly."
LAKERS 108, HEAT 105: Heat G Dwyane Wade and Lakers G Kobe Bryant had a classic battle that left both players scarred. Wade had a knot on his head thanks to a head-butt from Bryant, and Bryant had a cut on his head thanks to a similar play.
"It was one of those games," said Wade had ice on that knot on his head. "A good game, competitive, fun to be a part of."
Bryant pressured Wade the entire game.
"I've never seen anybody pick up Dwyane 90 feet (full-court) like that," coach Erik Spoelstra said.
And Wade (27 points) did the same, holding Bryant (19 points) to 5-for-14 shooting.
The difference was the Lakers' depth and quality. C Andrew Bynum had a key follow-up tip-in to put the Lakers ahead, 104-102. Daequan Cook hit a three-pointer to cut Miami's deficit to 106-105.
But Bryant hit a pair of free throws with 4.2 seconds left to provide the final margin.
This was the second close game between the teams. The Heat defeated the Lakers, 89-87, on Dec. 19.
