Heats victory increases the pressure on Nets to clinch a desired playoff place.
On Thursday they wanted the Heat to lose to the 76ers but Miami the No. 7 seed and top club in the conferences play-in round destroyed Philadelphia 129-101.
The Heat defeated Washington in two of their first three encounters but the Southeast Division rivals havent played since November 25.
Coach Jacque Vaughn made light of the Miami game in Philadelphia after the Nets victory on Wednesday while Joe Harris advised Brooklyn to concentrate on Orlando.
We have that game coming up and all I can think about is how [the Magic] defeated us the previous time we faced each other Vaughn said. This is the competitive nature then. I cant think of anything else. When we encounter these guys how can we defeat them?
Claxton resumed play after the seven-day break in February with six straight games with single-digit points.
Heat Dominate 76ers Keep 6th Seed Hopes
However he has played at least 27:29 in each of the last 15 games while scoring in double figures in 13 and over that period his average court time has grown to 32.2 minutes.
Nic “sort of settled in” according to Vaughn who added that Nic “really was a force for us at the rim deterring shots being able to convert on the other end of the floor and his ability to get to the rim on top of the rim.” It may be difficult to defend against him if we have players moving downhill and he poses a rim danger.
He missed the game against the Pistons and in five games dating back to March 26 he hasnt scored more than two points.
Prior to the trade deadline Thomas had three straight games with 40 points giving the impression that he was about to break out. However only four times since then has he scored more than 20 points.