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Heat limits Lakers for win

MIAMI -- Even with Shaquille O'Neal back in the lineup, the Lakers were not at their best.

O'Neal was held to 15 points in his third game since returning from toe surgery and the Heat won for the third time this season, beating Los Angeles 97-85 Tuesday night.

"To beat anybody right now is big for us," said Eddie Jones, who led the Heat with 18 points. "It so happened it was the world champions. We'll take it."

Reserves Mike James and LaPhonso Ellis sparked the Heat, which entered tied for last in the Atlantic Division. James scored 14 and Ellis 13, and both sank key 3s in the fourth.

The Lakers fell to 2-1 since O'Neal's return. Without him they were 3-9, their worst start in 36 years. O'Neal played a season-high 32 minutes, but missed 10-of-15, including an uncontested layup and an alley-oop dunk.

Teammate Kobe Bryant, averaging 42 minutes, was limited to 32 because of foul trouble and scored 21 points. PACERS 88, WIZARDS 84: Michael Jordan entered earlier, matched his season high in minutes and led a fourth-quarter comeback to no avail for host Washington. Jermaine O'Neal had 26 points and 21 rebounds for Indiana. Jordan played 34 minutes and scored a season-high 28. Reggie Miller, playing his first game after sitting out with an ankle injury, started and scored 13 for Indiana.

HAWKS 119, SONICS 116 (OT): Glenn Robinson scored a season-high 37 and Shareef Abdur-Rahim added 31 for host Atlanta. Alan Henderson, starting for Theo Ratliff (flu), had a career-high 21 rebounds to help the Hawks overcome Gary Payton's season-high 32 points. The Hawks led almost the entire overtime after Abdur-Rahim missed a running jumper at the end of regulation, leaving the score tied at 105. KINGS 91, CAVS 85: Chris Webber scored 28, 20 in the second half, and visiting Sacramento won its sixth straight. The Cavs finally used rookie guard Dajuan Wagner, who finished with 17 points before fouling out. Wagner was hospitalized last month with a bladder infection and had surgery to remove a blood clot.

BLAZERS 77, ROCKETS 71: Rasheed Wallace scored 16, all in the second half for host Portland. Steve Francis led Houston with 19 points, and Yao Ming struggled early with foul trouble, finishing with 10 points and two rebounds.

JAZZ 99, CLIPPERS 94: Matt Harpring scored 30 and Karl Malone had 17 points and 13 rebounds for visiting Utah. Los Angeles forward Corey Maggette will have surgery on his right knee and miss 4-6 weeks.

NUGGETS 85, SPURS 81: Junior Harrington hit a 20-foot jumper with 8.5 seconds left and preserved the win with a steal for host Denver. Juwan Howard and James Posey scored 23 points each for Denver, which had not beaten San Antonio since Dec. 14, 2000. WARRIORS: Guard A.J. Guyton, who signed as a free agent Nov. 18, was waived.

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