Wade makes splash
Dwyane Wade’s easiest shot of the game was a wide-open layup in transition. He missed.
Yet when the pressure was at its peak, Wade came through and delivered both a victory and the best performance of his young career. He capped a career-high, 39-point night with a jumper over Raja Bell at the overtime buzzer, giving the Miami Heat a 107-105 win over the Utah Jazz on Friday night at Miami.
Wade had 23 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, plus hit two free throws with 1 second left in regulation just to get Miami into the extra session.
“I always go through a stretch where I play bad, and I go through a stretch where I play good,” Wade said. “That’s the difference between this year and last year. Now I know it’s going to happen like that, so I continue to stay focused. My team needs me down the stretch to make plays.”
Clearly, Shaquille O’Neal knew what he was talking about when he pronounced Wade as Miami’s leader long before the season started. Wade made 12 of his 22 shots; the rest of the Heat shot 42.2 percent. From the line, Wade was 15 for 21 while the rest of the Heat shot 7 of 23.
“We had to fight through a lot tonight … but we still won,” said O’Neal, who had his fifth double-double of the season, 22 points and 11 rebounds.
Carlos Boozer had 25 points and nine rebounds for Utah, which led by nine in the fourth quarter. Carlos Arroyo, who played his college ball at Miami’s Florida International University, had 18 points, including two free throws with 4.5 seconds left in overtime to tie the game at 105.
“I thought we did a pretty good job to finish the game,” Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. “I thought we should have won the game in regulation. … The kid stepped up and made a great shot. That’s what great players do.”
Suns 107, Lakers 102: Amare Stoudemire scored 33 points, including the go-ahead, three-point play with 51.8 seconds remaining, to power Phoenix past visiting Los Angeles.
It was the third consecutive 30-plus game for the third-year power forward, the first Suns frontcourt player to do that since Charles Barkley in 1995-96.
After shooting 0 for 10 in the first half, the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant scored 26 of his 29 points in the second half. He missed two 3-pointers late while the Suns went on a 9-3 run over the final minute.
Mavericks 103, Knicks 101: Dirk Nowitzki had 30 points and 12 rebounds to lead Dallas over visiting New York.
The Mavericks were without three key players: Michael Finley (sprained ankle), Erick Dampier (strained hip flexor) and Jason Terry (sprained ankle). Reserve guard Dan Dickau (Gonzaga University) also missed the game because of food poisoning.
Trail Blazers 110, Bucks 98: At Portland, Ore., Damon Stoudamire scored 33 points and Zach Randolph added 22 points and 18 rebounds to lead Portland over Milwaukee.
Spurs 92, Celtics 84: Tim Duncan scored 26 points to stay unbeaten in all 14 of his games against Boston, and visiting San Antonio capitalized on fourth-quarter turnovers to secure its sixth consecutive win.
Nuggets 99, Bulls 81: At Denver, Earl Boykins matched his career high with 32 points and Carmelo Anthony added 18 despite foul trouble, as Denver dropped Chicago to 0-7.
Kings 107, Grizzlies 105: At Sacramento, Calif., Chris Webber scored 31 points on 14-of-24 shooting from the floor and Sacramento overcame an eight-point, third-quarter deficit to defeat Memphis.
Around the league
Jason Kidd‘s recovery from surgery on his left knee is on schedule and the All-Star point guard hopes to practice next month with the struggling New Jersey Nets. … Indiana forward Jonathan Bender is expected to be out six weeks with an injured left knee. The 7-0, 235-pound forward has averaged 5.7 points and 2.2 rebounds during his first five seasons. … The New Orleans Hornets signed 6-10 forward Matt Freije and waived guard Tim Pickett, their second-round draft pick out of Florida State. Freije was Miami’s second-round pick, out of Vanderbilt, but he was waived last Sunday.