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MIAMI: Offensive powerhouse Dwayne Wade made the key defensive play
that let the Miami Heat end a 15-game National Basketball
Association losing streak with a victory over the Indiana Pacers on
Saturday.
Wade scored 22 of his 35 points in the second
half to lead Miami to a 98-96 victory over the Pacers.
Wade had gone into the game as the fifth-leading
scorer in the NBA at 25 points per game and was all but unstoppable
in the second half.
He also contributed to a solid defensive effort
in the waning moments that ultimately made the difference.
With the Heat leading 98-96, Miami forced Kareem
Rush into a tough 3-point attempt.
He missed, but Indiana collected the rebound and
called a timeout.
As the Pacers attempted to inbound the ball,
Wade jumped in front of the pass and smacked the ball to the other
end of the court, leaving Andre Owen to launch a vain desperation
shot as time ran out.
“I read the play and I got my hands on it as
quick as I could,” Wade said.
Mark Blount finished with 19 points for the
Heat, who won for just the sixth time at home this season.
Their 15-game skid was the longest in the league
this season and the second longest in club history, just two less
than the team record set back in the Heat’s expansion season of
1988 to 1989.
-- AFP
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