Wade fires up Heat
Their bloodied superstar was in the locker room and the game was threatening to get away from the Heat.
Oh, but there was one piece of good news for Miami.
“I knew I was coming right back,” Dwyane Wade said.
Wade scored 30 points, half in the final 4 1/2 minutes, and added 10 assists and seven rebounds to lead the Miami Heat over the New Jersey Nets 103-92 on Friday night in Game 3 of the best-of-7 series in East Rutherford, N.J.
Knocked out of the game briefly by an inadvertent elbow during a stretch when New Jersey was threatening to take control, Wade helped the Heat come back to win the first competitive game in the series and take a 2-1 lead.
“Very, very unique player,” Heat coach Pat Riley said. “He makes it look real easy and I know how hard it has to be. He’s just a blessing for us and this franchise.”
Shaquille O’Neal added 19 points and nine rebounds, and Antoine Walker scored 16 points for the Heat.
Game 4 of the series is Sunday in New Jersey.
“Now that we’ve got this one, we don’t want to play around with these guys. We want to get the one on Sunday,” O’Neal said.
Vince Carter scored 43 points, but had a few costly turnovers in the fourth quarter that helped the Heat finally shake the Nets.
“We were just making silly mistakes on both ends,” he said.
Richard Jefferson added 17 points – none in the final period.
“I played terrible in the second half,” Jefferson said. “I couldn’t get anything going. My teammates and coaches expect better from me.”
Jason Kidd was also scoreless in the fourth, finishing with 10 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds.
New Jersey was without key reserve Clifford Robinson, who was suspended five games by the NBA earlier in the day for violating the anti-drug policy. The news came as a tough surprise to the Nets, who learned of the penalty at around noon – after Robinson had already taken part in the morning shootaround.
Suns 94, Clippers 91: At Los Angeles, Shawn Marion had 32 points and 19 rebounds, Tim Thomas added 19 points and 14 rebounds as Phoenix rallied for the victory for a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.
Game 4 is Sunday night at Staples Center. The Suns won by outscoring the Clippers 12-6 to finish the game.
Marion got it started, making a 3-pointer with 2:58 remaining to tie it at 85. After a foul shot by Shaun Livingston gave the Clippers a one-point lead, Nash made two free throws and Thomas added two more, putting the Suns on top 89-86 with 2:04 left.
Marion’s three-point play with 49.2 seconds to go gave the Suns a six-point lead, but the Clippers weren’t finished: Elton Brand’s three-point play with 46 seconds to play and two free throws by Quinton Ross with 28.4 seconds left cut Phoenix’s lead to one.
But the Suns ran the clock down before league MVP Nash, who shot just 3 of 9, made a 14-foot jumper with 3.6 seconds to go.
James, Nash to split honor
LeBron James, who finished a distant runner-up to Steve Nash for NBA Most Valuable Player, has been named the league’s co-MVP along with the Phoenix guard by the Sporting News, which has been giving out the award since 1958.
The magazine will formally announce its awards, including others, on Tuesday. Team executives vote for the team.