Late run lifts Heat over Pacers
For so much of the night, just about everything was going wrong for the Miami Heat. They were missing every three-pointer, arguing plenty of calls, even screaming at one another.
For so much of the night, just about everything was going wrong for the Miami Heat. They were missing every three-pointer, arguing plenty of calls, even screaming at one another.
Then one quick burst changed everything.
Dwyane Wade scored 32 points, LeBron James added 24 on a sore left ankle, and Chris Bosh and Ray Allen connected on huge three-pointers within a 31-second span down the stretch. It all added up to the Heat erasing a 15-point deficit in the final 18 minutes to beat the rival Indiana Pacers, 97-94, on Wednesday in Miami.
"It shows we're a team that's been there before," Wade said. "No matter what the score is, we always feel we have an opportunity to win the game."
So even when Indiana led 68-53 midway through the third quarter, hope remained.
And even when James and Mario Chalmers were getting into a heated exchange during one particularly bleak stretch - James said afterward that he was wrong, and Chalmers said the matter was forgotten - the Heat didn't fall apart.
"It was a good win," James said. "Good, good, quality win against a very good team on our home floor. We had to overcome a lot."
Paul George scored 25 points for Indiana but missed a three-pointer that would have tied it with four seconds left, and insisted afterward that he was fouled by James on the play.
"I went into my shot, got pushed in the back, I thought it was a foul, nothing was called, and we lost the game," George said. "Aside of that we still should have taken care of business."
Kevin Love had 29 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 120-109 victory over the visiting Portland Trail Blazers.
Brandon Jennings scored 28 points, making a key three-pointer with 46.7 seconds left, and matched his season high with 14 assists, and the Detroit Pistons held on for a 107-106 win over the Celtics in Boston.
John Wall scored 21 points and made two big defensive plays against Deron Williams down the stretch to lead the Washington Wizards to a 113-107 victory over the Nets in Brooklyn.
Kyle Korver made seven consecutive three-point shots on his way to a season-high 28 points, leading the Hawks to a 124-107 victory over the Sacramento Kings in Atlanta.
Trey Burke had a career-high 30 points and eight assists, Gordon Hayward added 15 points and the Utah Jazz held off the host Orlando Magic, 86-82.
Manu Ginobili scored 11 of his 24 points in the final four-plus minutes, and the San Antonio Spurs pulled away for a 108-101 victory over host Phoenix, snapping the Suns' five-game winning streak.
Tyson Chandler returned from injury and J.R. Smith hit a go-ahead jumper in the second overtime and the New York Knicks held on to beat the Bucks in Milwaukee, 107-101.
- Associated Press