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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Heat hang on, outlast New Jersey

Associated Press

Vince Carter and Lawrence Frank vehemently argued for a foul, and Alonzo Mourning later acknowledged that the New Jersey Nets may have had a point.

Yet to Mourning and the Miami Heat, what ultimately mattered was being one point better.

Dwyane Wade made a free throw with 5.2 seconds left, then blocked Carter’s potentially game-winning layup at the buzzer to give Miami a 90-89 win over the visiting Nets Monday to snap a two-game losing streak.

“All ball,” Wade said.

“A win is a win, regardless of how you look at it,” Mourning said. “We needed a win.”

On the final play, Carter drove left toward the basket – but had his shot slapped away by Wade, who was helping Mourning protect the rim.

“I was hoping he didn’t pull up and shoot a jumper, because he was on,” Mourning said. “I wanted him to come to the hole, so I did the best I could. I just jumped straight into the air. They could have called a foul. … I didn’t think it was a foul, but things went our way this evening.”

Wade, who had 23 points, drove on the Nets’ Jason Kidd and was fouled – a call that also didn’t sit well with Frank and the Nets. Wade made the second of two free throws, setting up the game-ending drama.

“I certainly thought I was going to get the call,” said Carter, who was 14 of 21 from the floor and finished with a game-high 32 points. “There was a lot of contact on that play. At least two guys hit me.”

Frank, the Nets’ coach, ran halfway across the court to plead his case, but his team – which rallied from a pair of double-digit deficits after halftime – left bitter after losing to Miami for the 10th straight time.

Timberwolves 93, Clippers 78: In Minneapolis, Kevin Garnett had 22 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists to lead Minnesota past Los Angeles.

Garnett, who was facing former teammate Sam Cassell for the second time in three nights, made up for Saturday’s loss. He had missed a jump shot in the lane in the closing seconds of overtime during the 100-99 defeat in Los Angeles.

Elton Brand had 26 points and eight rebounds to overshadow Cassell (11 points on 3-of-10 shooting) in his return to Minnesota since the August trade that sent him to California for Marko Jaric.

Jazz 95, Bobcats 91 (OT): In Charlotte, N.C., Mehmet Okur scored seven of his career-high 31 points in overtime as Utah beat Charlotte.

Andrei Kirilenko added 20 points and eight rebounds for the Jazz, who recovered after blowing a 14-point third-quarter lead.

Primoz Brezec, Sean May and Jumaine Jones scored 13 points, and Emeka Okafor added 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Bobcats, who were trying to win three in a row for the first time in franchise history.

Spurs 104, Bulls 95 (OT): In Chicago, Tim Duncan finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds, and Tony Parker scored eight of his 22 in overtime to lead San Antonio past Chicago.

Parker was 6 of 14 from the field and 10 of 12 from the line and finished with nine assists. Duncan also blocked six shots – giving him 1,505 rejections for his career. Nazr Mohammed added 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting, and Manu Ginobili had 14 points.

Tied at 91 after regulation, the Spurs outscored Chicago 13-4 in overtime.

Luol Deng led the Bulls with 19 points, and Ben Gordon added 14.

Cavaliers 105, Raptors 93: In Toronto, LeBron James had 27 points to lead Cleveland over winless Toronto.

Larry Hughes added 16 points for the Cavaliers, who salvaged the last game of their three-game road trip.

Chris Bosh had 26 points and 12 rebounds for the Raptors, who are 0-4 for the first time in franchise history.