Sports

NBA

Wade powers Heat past Spurs

Associated Press
Published February 14, 2005

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MIAMI - Dwyane Wade could only watch when the Heat faltered down the stretch in San Antonio earlier this season, a sprained ankle keeping him out of the nine-point loss.

He made sure Miami didn't waste its chance Sunday to knock off the NBA-leading Spurs.

Wade had 13 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, including a jumper with 25.1 seconds left, helping Miami beat San Antonio 96-92 - the first time the Heat downed the Spurs since Feb. 1, 2002.

"It's a big win," said Wade, who hit five of his final seven shots, and added six assists and five rebounds. "Everything didn't go smooth for us, but what's important is we beat a great team that's playing well right now."

The game between conference leaders - San Antonio's 40-12 record is tied for the league lead, and Miami's 39-14 has it seven games ahead of Detroit in the East - was classic: 22 lead changes, 22 ties and no lead more than six.

Back and forth they went until the Heat stepped up in the final minutes. "That is the best I have felt about our team in a long time," Heat coach Stan Van Gundy said.

Manu Ginobili, who led San Antonio with 24 points, put the Spurs ahead 85-83 with 4:15 remaining on a layup. Shaquille O'Neal hit a free throw for Miami 20 seconds later, then caught a long outlet from Wade, spun and found Damon Jones for a 3-pointer to put Miami up for good with 3:06 left.

The Heat became just the fifth team to overcome a halftime deficit against the Spurs. San Antonio was 34-4 when leading at the break this season.

McHale can't spark Wolves

MINNEAPOLIS - Reserve Ben Gordon had 21 points and eight rebounds, and the Bulls spoiled Kevin McHale's first game on Minnesota's bench with an 87-83 victory. The Bulls' 20-2 run bridging the first and second quarters was the difference. McHale, who fired longtime friend Flip Saunders on Saturday, was on the sideline for the first time since his Hall of Fame career ended in 1993. As Minnesota's vice president of basketball operations, McHale - fed up with the Wolves' struggles - fired Saunders to try to jump-start the team. Saunders will be reassigned within the organization.

CAVS 103, LAKERS 89: LeBron James scored 21 of his 25 in the second half, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas added 30 to spoil Kobe Bryant's return to visiting Los Angeles' lineup. Bryant, who until a few days ago wasn't expected to be back until after the All-Star break, had 26 points.

MAGIC 97, HORNETS 94: Hedo Turkoglu and Steve Francis each scored 22 for host Orlando, which had lost four of five. A night after surrendering a league season-high 60 points to Philadelphia's Allen Iverson, Orlando gave up 48 to the New Orleans backcourt of Dan Dickau (28) and J.R. Smith (20).

KNICKS 102, BOBCATS 99: Tim Thomas got a lucky bounce on a 3-pointer from the corner as the final buzzer sounded to give host New York its fourth victory in the past 22 games. Charlotte came back from a 10-point deficit, then fell behind by seven before tying it in the final minute.

NETS 94, NUGGETS 79: Vince Carter scored 23 and host New Jersey spoiled Kenyon Martin's return, holding Denver without a basket for nearly 11 minutes.

KINGS 104, CELTICS 100: Chris Webber had a triple double by the third quarter, and Mike Bibby took over from there, scoring 14 of his 27 in the fourth for visiting Sacramento. Webber had 14 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists.

PACERS 76, GRIZZLIES 73: Stephen Jackson had 19 points, and Fred Jones added 15 to help host Indiana overcome an off night from Jermaine O'Neal. O'Neal finished with 11 points, was 4-for-15 and missed all six shots in the fourth quarter.

MAVS 95, SONICS 92: Dirk Nowitzki had 31 points and 11 rebounds to lead visiting Dallas. The Mavericks snapped Seattle's five-game win streak after the Sonics couldn't protect a 10-point lead in the final five minutes.

RAPTORS 109, CLIPPERS 106: Rafer Alston scored 10 of his 18 in the fourth quarter and host Toronto ended a four-game skid.

ROCKETS 81, BLAZERS 80: Yao Ming scored 23 and Juwan Howard had 17 points, including four free throws in the last 13 seconds, for host Houston.

SUNS 106, WARRIORS 102 (OT): Jimmy Jackson hit a go-ahead shot in the lane with less than 20 seconds left to lift visiting Phoenix, which tied San Antonio for the league's best record (40-12).

Malone done for good

SALT LAKE CITY - As much as Karl Malone wanted to win an NBA title, he didn't have the desire to play a 20th season. Malone officially announced his retirement, ending his career where it started when the Jazz selected him with the 13th pick in the 1985 draft.

"If I'm fortunate enough to go into the Hall of Fame, I will go as a Jazz man," Malone said at a news conference.

The 41-year-old finishes second on the league's career scoring list with 36,928, 1,459 behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Malone met with the Spurs last week and was considering a return, but decided mentally he couldn't play at the level that made him one of the best in the NBA.

"When I said I retired from basketball playing, I have retired. You will not see me play again," he said. "There will be no unbelievable comebacks. Seen that, didn't like that. Won't do that."

[Last modified February 14, 2005, 01:20:17]