by Chris Strauss, USA TODAY Sports

If Dwyane Wade is starting to “lose his athletic ability,” it certainly didn’t seem so last night.

After the Miami Heat guard dropped 26 points and shot 11 of 13 from the field in his team’s 101-92 win over the Atlanta Hawks, teammate LeBron James took a minute to rebuke one of Wade’s loudest recent critics when asked what the performance meant.

”It means Charles Barkley needs to shut up,” James said. ”I mean, the man’s shooting 80 percent from the floor in the last couple games. Come on, man. That’s like crazy, right? That’s why he is who he is. Unbelievable.”

Barkley had criticized Wade on TNT before last Thursday’s Knicks-Heat game, saying that Wade is no longer the same player and doesn’t “explode anymore.”

Wade is now 20 of 25 from the field in his past two games and while he didn’t address Barkley’s comments, the two obviously know how to get in touch to discuss them further.

… [For more on LeBron: 'Charles Barkley needs to shut up' about Wade, click here.]