Jeremy Lin lifting spotlight from Heat

MIAMI -- When it comes to the NBA, everybody is talking about Jeremy Lin, including Bill Clinton.

And that was when the former president was at a Miami Heat game.

Asked about having attended Sunday's 90-78 win by the surging Heat over Orlando at AmericanAirlines Arena, Clinton told FOX Sports Florida, "All these people (the fans)… were asking me about Jeremy Lin."

All of this is fine with Heat stars Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. Both said they have no problem with the spotlight being on the New York Knicks' sensation rather than on the Heat, who have won six straight, all in resounding fashion.

"Hey, he got it," Wade said when told that Clinton, who called Lin "great" and said "I love him," was being bombarded by even Heat fans mostly questions about Lin. "It's the Lin show right now."

Maybe some folks will notice the Heat a bit more when they face the Knicks at home Thursday. They might notice they've been pretty dominant lately, winning their past six by an average margin of 17.6 points.

"It's cool with us," Wade said of the publicity surrounding Lin and the Knicks, who played the 1 p.m. EST game Sunday against Dallas while the Heat started at 3:30 in a game that turned out to be the undercard even though it was the second game of ABC's doubleheader. "We had a lot of bright lights last year. We're just focused on us, and it's a good thing for this team to be able to do that and be able to learn from our mistakes and not have it so put out there as much as it was last year.

"So, congratulations to the Knicks for getting some of that sun. The Clippers had it early and then the Knicks took it from the Clippers. So we'll see who gets it next. Maybe somebody else will come and get it."

Wade, who said the Heat still want to reach "another gear" even higher than how they're playing now, led Miami with 27 points. Of course, that's a mere footnote around the NBA on a day Lin had 28 points and 14 assists as the Knicks beat the Mavericks 104-97 at Madison Square Garden for their eighth win in nine games.

Oh, by the way, James had a near triple-double Sunday with 25 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. Even if he had gotten another two assists, it would have paled in comparison to Lin's latest exploits.

"That's cool," James said of a team up north getting all the publicity these days. "We don't mind."

The Heat (25-7) are playing their best ball this season. One could make an argument it's the best they've played since James and Chris Bosh joined forces with Wade before last season.

As was the case in the previous five Heat wins, this one wasn't close. Miami led by as much as 88-68 with less than three minutes remaining before the Magic (20-12) closed the gap with deep reserves in the game.

"I have said three things about the Miami Heat," said Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy. "No. 1, they… have been together longer… No. 2, I think they have a lot more depth… No. 3… I think they have settled their point-guard position."

Interestingly, the Magic handed the Heat their last loss, 102-89 on Feb. 8 in Orlando, when starting point guard Mario Chalmers missed one game due a wrist injury. With Chalmers back, the Heat got revenge.

"I'm sure our team wanted to get back them," Chalmers said.

The Heat sure did 1 ½ weeks after Magic center Dwight Howard had burned them for 25 points and 24 rebounds. With Heat players swarming him Sunday, Howard was held to 12 points although he did reach his average with 15 rebounds.

"They just played harder than us," said Howard, who didn't help matters by shooting 2-of-10 from the foul line. "They clogged the paint. They forced me to pass the ball out. It was a pretty good defensive effort."

Yes, it was. The Heat held the Magic to 36.5 percent shooting and forced them into 15 turnovers.

Errant passes weren't the only worries for those seated near the court. The game featured Magic 300-pound plus forward Glen Davis flying into the scorer's table, Wade tumbling on top of a cameraman on the baseline and James landing on a pair of small kids seated courtside after he tried to defend a three-point attempt by Orlando forward Ryan Anderson.

"I didn't see them," James said. "I never saw them until I saw the jumbotron and I saw them cry… All I felt was the beer hitting my back (from a fan)… (James returned to later) ask them if were OK. They were smiling and they had two lollypops in their hands. That's always a cure."

While James didn't see the kids, always-focused Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said afterward he didn't even know Clinton was at the game. This was despite Clinton being seated across the Heat bench as a guest of Miami owner Micky Arison and being presented with Heat jersey No. 42 (for being the 42nd president) during a third-quarter timeout. After the game, Clinton posed for a photo with game officials Bill Kennedy, Mark Lindsay and Rodney Mott.

Wade knew Clinton was in the house, and he came over to shake his hand after the game. And James knew.

"It's humbling, honestly," James said. "I think we understand how busy the presidents that we've had, current and former, how busy their schedule can be. You get them to a sporting event, it's definitely humbling… The best thing about it was we were able to win a game."
 
That Clinton was talking to fans more about Lin than about the Heat also could be considering humbling. But those on the Heat sure didn't mind.

"A lot of people are talking about Jeremy Lin, so he's a great story," said forward Shane Battier, new to the Heat this season. "After going though what they did last year, I don't blame (James and Wade with having no problem now being overshadowed by Lin and the Knicks)."

The Heat will see the Lin show for themselves Thursday. No word yet whether Clinton also will check it out in person.

Chris Tomasson can be reached at christomasson@hotmail.com and on Twitter @christomasson