Wade looks to continue his strong start as the Heat try to climb back over .500 on Saturday night when they host the Indiana Pacers.

Since leading Miami to the only NBA title in franchise history and being named finals MVP in 2006, Wade has been limited to 51 games in each of the last two seasons by a series of knee and shoulder injuries.

Miami managed to win 44 games with their star hobbled in 2006-07 before a first-round playoff loss to Chicago, but floundered last season, finishing a league-worst 15-67.

The Heat (6-6) hoped having Wade healthy this season would help restore them to prominence, but based on the first three weeks of the season, they're going to need production elsewhere as well.

Wade is second in the league in scoring with 28.2 points per game, fourth with 7.8 assists and second with 2.5 steals. He's also shooting 49.2 percent from the field, and blocking 2.0 shots per contest. Each of the four players in the NBA averaging more blocks than Wade is at least seven inches taller than the 6-foot-4 guard.

Despite Wade's strong start, the Heat have been inconsistent in their first 12 games under rookie coach Erik Spoelstra. Wade had 40 points, 11 assists and five blocks - all season highs - Wednesday night, but Miami trailed by as many as 17 points before eventually falling 101-95 against Toronto.

"You waste a lot of energy when you come back from 10 or more," said Wade, who was 16-for-30 from the field in his fifth 30-point outing in eight games. "You don't really want to do that."

The Heat hope to put together a more complete performance against the Pacers (5-6), who have dropped three of four following a three-game win streak. Indiana blew a seven-point fourth quarter lead in a 100-98 overtime loss to Orlando on Friday night, its third loss by four or fewer points this season.

"We didn't execute down the stretch," said shooting guard Marquis Daniels, who scored a season-high 25 points and went 11-for-19 from the field. "It seems like we only played 3 1/2 quarters. We've got to play the full game."

The Pacers would likely benefit from a return to form for Danny Granger. After scoring 27.3 points per game and shooting 51.4 percent from the field in his first four games of the season, Granger's averaging 21.8 points and shooting 43.4 percent in his last six.

Granger scored 19.3 points per game and shot 50.0 percent as Indiana won three of four games against Miami last season.

Wade played in two of those contests, averaging 29.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.5 assists while connecting on 18 of 34 shots (52.9 percent).