Wade helps Heat return to winning ways

(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-01-08 18:58

Dwyane Wade returned, and just like that Miami's skid was over. A much more anonymous player helped end the Dallas Mavericks' 13-game winning streak.

Sasha Vujacic scored a career-high 16 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 28.5 seconds left, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Mavericks 101-98 on Sunday night.

Kobe Bryant scored 14 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, but the Mavs already know what to expect from him. They were caught off guard by the play of the 22-year-old Slovenian.

"Kobe basically took over the game, had some great shots," Dirk Nowitzki said. "But really, I think it was the Vujacic guy. Those were points you don't expect. He was hot ¡ª he made big 3s for them."

Dallas saw that kind of thing last June from Wade in the NBA finals. The MVP of that series had another clutch performance Sunday, scoring 33 points in Miami's 93-90 victory at Portland.

The Heat had lost five in a row, including all four while Wade was out with an injured wrist. He played 41 minutes, going 15-of-17 at the foul line and helping Miami rally from a 16-point deficit.

"Dwyane Wade, of course, was the big difference," Blazers coach Nate McMillan said. "Not only is he hard to defend, but he gets to the free-throw line."

In other games, it was: Toronto 116, Washington 111; Minnesota 103, Houston 99 in overtime; San Antonio 110, Memphis 96; Orlando 87, Boston 79; and Phoenix 128, Golden State 105.

At Portland, Wade scored 25 points in the first half, then said he felt tired later in the game after his layoff. But his return was just the spark the defending champions needed as they remain without Shaquille O'Neal, Antoine Walker and James Posey.

"It was good to come out and give my teammates some confidence and pull out a win," Wade said.

It was Miami's first victory since coach Pat Riley took a leave of absence because of knee and hip pain and was replaced on an interim basis by Ron Rothstein.

"That Wade kid, I think we'll keep him," Rothstein joked.

Vujacic looked like a keeper, too. Struggling with his shot this season, he went 6-of-7 from the field, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.

"I'm really happy for Sasha, how well he played tonight," Bryant said. "He comes in off the bench and always plays extremely well defensively, even when he's not shooting well. I'm proud of him."

Luke Walton had 21 points and six assists for the Lakers, who presented coach Phil Jackson with his 900th victory. The 61-year-old Jackson ranks ninth on the NBA's career wins list, and became the fastest to reach 900, doing so in 1,264 games. Riley accomplished the feat in 1,278 games.

"It's a compliment to all the players I've had ¡ª the great players, the great teams and the great runs that we've had," Jackson said. "It's become a game in which us elderly guys are now coaching, which was an age that coaches didn't extend themselves into when I was a player. It says something about the longevity of coaches now."

The loss was just the fourth in the last 31 games for the Mavericks, whose 27-8 record is the best in the NBA.

Nowitzki had 29 points and 13 rebounds, and Josh Howard had 20 points and nine rebounds.

"We didn't have our normal fourth quarter," said Mavericks coach Avery Johnson, whose team was outscored 33-21 in the final period. "Everything we tried on them in the fourth quarter didn't work."



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