MIAMI _ As the video tribute honoring Dwyane Wade's 13 seasons and three championships with the Heat ended, its subject strolled onto the court during the first-quarter timeout at American Airlines Arena, thanking the crowd for another standing ovation.
Nobody figured Wade's curtain call for an eventual Hall of Fame career would come in a Bulls' uniform.
But only mere minutes were needed for the separation between then and now to be hammered home yet again. Wade took exception to Justise Winslow's foul to his neck, shoving his arm away.
"I want to win this damn game," Wade had said beforehand.
Wade and the Bulls made good on this goal, prevailing 98-95 over the Heat.
Wade finished with 13 points on 5 of 17 shooting and hit two big free throws to ice the Heat with 13.7 seconds left. Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 20 points, including three huge jumpers late. Robin Lopez and Rajon Rondo had season highs of 16 points apiece. Hassan Whiteside's 20 points and 20 rebounds led the Heat, who lost Goran Dragic to a sprained left ankle in the third quarter.
So, yes, Wade strolled down memory lane, offering reflection throughout the emotional day and even watching the video tribute as he exited the game during that timeout. But the competitive side ultimately prevailed.
"We have a special bond. I want them to succeed," Wade said of the Heat. "Just not when we play each other. I want them to be right behind us in the playoffs."
Wade, who had driven himself to the game from his home, parked his car in the visitors' lot.
"I really, absolutely did not know where to go," he said.
Arena workers cheered and flashbulbs popped as he entered the building. That's how big a deal his return was.
It even prompted Pat Riley finally to hit send on that email the Heat president said he had saved in his drafts folder since September. Wade said he planned to read it later and once again downplayed the Heat's decision to lowball him in free agency and ultimately watch him walk to the Bulls with no communication from Riley.
"It's nothing to squash, in my eyes," Wade said. "I've spoken through you guys and he has heard me very loud and clear. I'm just appreciative of Pat and what we created together here in Miami."
Appreciation might have been Wade's dominant emotion of the day. He talked about his bond with the community and longtime teammates like Udonis Haslem, expressed his respect for coach Erik Spoelstra.
And he noted how the Bulls lined up opposite the Heat for the national anthem, allowing him to see the three championship banners that hung behind him when he played here.
"This time, I got to look at what we accomplished from the opposite side," Wade said. "From my rookie year on, I have memories here, every moment, every game. Hitting my first game-winner in the playoffs here. A lot of great memories. Have some bad ones too. I've had some injuries here, had some bad losses, but all good from a standpoint of everything that happened for my career here in 13 years."
Wade blew resin in buddy Haslem's face and saluted the Heat's coaching staff just before he took the court, where he missed his first three shots before scoring on a hanging drive. He joked that NBA visiting locker rooms aren't up to code and that he had to get his ankles taped in a storage room.
After the Bulls arrived overnight from Atlanta, Wade spent the rest of the night in his home, where he had some teammates visit later Thursday. His two basketball worlds are officially bridged now, in more ways than one.
"The people you know and the places you go, it's just what you know," he said. "Everything I'm doing in Chicago now is just different. It has been joyous, it has been great. You make a decision because change is what you want, and I was looking forward to a little change. I'm enjoying it. But when you come back here, it's things that you know and you're used to. And those things feel good as well."
