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Dwyane Wade on hot streak: 'This is the best I've felt in years'

Issac Baldizon / National Basketball Association / Getty

The Miami Heat would have preferred a healthy lineup, including Chris Bosh, to take them down the stretch. Given the circumstances, they'll surely settle for a rejuvenated Dwyane Wade.

That's exactly what the Heat have gotten over the last couple weeks, as they make their push for a seventh straight playoff trip.

Fresh off of a clutch, 32-point performance in a victory over the Portland Trail Blazers and his seventh straight game of at least 25 points - his longest such streak in five years - Wade said he's finally feeling healthy again.

"This is the best I've felt in years right now," Wade told ESPN's Michael Wallace after Wednesday's win.

"You question it. And you try not to question it, like 'Why? Why couldn't I feel like this the last two years?' " said Wade, who has been plagued by injuries in recent seasons. "But it is what it is. I'm feeling like this now, when I need it individually to (carry) more of a load to help this team."

Wade, who has missed 76 games over the last four seasons with a variety of maladies, said he's worked to ensure his body is prepared for the rigors of carrying the load in the fourth quarter again, something he didn't have to do with LeBron James in town.

"I've taken a lot of criticism and I've worked very hard on my body to get to the point where I know, fourth quarter, it shows. That means a lot to me. When everyone is tired, I go up a notch," the 33-year-old said. "And for an old guy, that's not bad at all to have that extra level to go to."

Wade leads the league in fourth-quarter scoring at 7.3 points per game and is averaging over 29 points on 53 percent shooting in his last seven games.

The Heat sit seventh in the East at 31-36, but have only a one-game cushion over the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers.

If the playoffs started today, the Heat would be matched up with James' Cleveland Cavaliers.

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