Heat finally get hot

Dwyane Wade saw Dorell Wright throw the ball in the air as time expired, then pumped a fist and pointed up.

He could finally feel some relief – the epic Miami Heat losing streak has finally ended.

Wade scored 35 points, Mark Blount added 10 of his 19 in the pivotal fourth quarter, and the Heat beat the Indiana Pacers 98-96 Saturday in Miami, to snap a 15-game skid – the longest in the NBA this season and the second-longest in franchise history.

So what if Miami only improved to 9-33?

For the first time since Dec. 22, the Heat could leave a game happy.

Wright had 14 points and 10 rebounds, Udonis Haslem scored 12 points and Earl Barron added 10 for Miami, which got eight assists from Jason Williams.

Mike Dunleavy scored 25 points for Indiana, which has lost 13 of its last 17 games. Andre Owens and Danny Granger each scored 13 and Kareem Rush scored 12 for the Pacers, who led by nine with 4:05 left in the third but couldn’t finish Miami off.

Miami led 94-85 on Wade’s 3-pointer with 4:36 left, before Indiana went on a 9-2 run over the next 3 1/2 minutes. Rush’s 3-pointer with 1:07 remaining drew the Pacers within 96-94.

The Heat lead was still two with 15.8 seconds left, after Haslem missed a jumper that could have made it a two-possession game. Rush missed an open 3, but Troy Murphy threw the ball off Haslem on the way out of bounds with 5.8 seconds left – giving Indiana another chance.

But Wade knocked the inbounds pass away, and the losing streak came to an emphatic end.

76ers 103, Bobcats 96: At Charlotte, N.C., Andre Iguodala scored 33 points and Philadelphia recovered from a poor start to beat the Bobcats and snap a three-game losing streak.

Andre Miller added 23 points and Samuel Dalembert grabbed 14 rebounds in a rare good performance for the 76ers, who had lost 11 of 13 games this month.

Grizzlies 125, Clippers 120 (OT): At Memphis, Tenn., Rudy Gay scored a career-high 34 points and the Grizzlies hit their free throws down the stretch to beat Los Angeles in overtime.

Mike Miller scored 27 points for Memphis, and Kyle Lowry had a career-high 21 points and eight assists for the Grizzlies

Hornets 102, Spurs 78: At San Antonio, David West scored 32 points and New Orleans won its eighth straight, routing the defending champion Spurs.

Peja Stojakovic added 22 points, including four 3-pointers, and Chris Paul had 17 points and for the Hornets.