Wade's three-pointer with 0.1 left keeps Nets winless
Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade scores as New Jersey Nets' Brook Lopez (11) looks on during the first quarter of an NBA basketball game in Miami, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Jeffrey M. Boan)
(Jeffrey Boan - AP)
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Saturday, November 14, 2009; 10:26 PM
MIAMI -- Dwyane Wade's 3-pointer with 0.1 seconds left gave the Miami Heat an 81-80 victory over the undermanned and winless New Jersey Nets on Saturday night.
Wade's shot was the 17th tie or lead change in the fourth quarter and came after the Nets' Brook Lopez tipped in teammate Rafer Alston's missed runner with 4.1 seconds remaining.
Before the basket by Lopez, the Heat had tied the game on a banked-in 3-pointer by Quentin Richardson with 25 seconds to go.
Wade finished with 22 points and Udonis Haslem scored 28 for Miami, which played without two starters in a sluggish performance.
Sean Williams had eight of his 12 points in the fourth quarter, and Lopez and Trenton Hassell each finished with 17 points for New Jersey (0-10), which played with an eight-man rotation because of injury or personal reasons.
Wade had his 22nd straight game reaching the 20-point mark, breaking his own franchise record. He had a 21-game streak snapped by scoring 18 at Philadelphia on March 15.
All-Star Devin Harris missed his eighth straight game with a strained right groin for the Nets, and Bobby Simmons left the team to deal with a personal issue back home in Chicago.
Miami also played down. Jermaine O'Neal sat out because of a bruised left hip and Mario Chalmers left 4:25 into the game with a strained right shoulder.
That left some of the point guard role up to Wade, who didn't get his usual fourth-quarter rest because the Heat were only holding a one-point lead going into the period.
Williams, who came off the bench late in the third, provided a boost for New Jersey. The forward had played sparingly prior to the game, finishing with a season high against the fourth-best defense in the league.
Despite the injuries that left New Jersey with only eight players, the Nets got off to a fast start.
New Jersey took a six-point lead after a 13-4 run that stretched into the second, with Terrence Williams' 56-footer the highlight that ended the first quarter.
After a quick back and forth of buckets, Wade re-entered the game with 6:05 on the clock.
That's when Miami answered back with a 16-4 run of its own to take the lead at half, 40-38. Haslem had six, with Wade adding a running jumper and three-point play off a behind-the-back layup on the Nets' Josh Boone. Notes: The Nets and Heat play three more times this season, but not again until Feb. 17. ... Richardson entered Saturday as the only player in the NBA to log more than 250 minutes this season without attempting a single shot from the foul line. His last make was April 12, in his next-to-last game with the New York Knicks at Miami. ... Joel Anthony started in O'Neal's place.
