The Streak is Over

After Andre Owens heaved a long three-pointer that missed the basket entirely, Dorell Wright threw the ball up in the air in nearly the same spot that Dwyane Wade threw it up on June 20, 2006. Wright and Wade then embraced, just had they did on June 20, 2006. It sure looked like they won a championship. To Wright, it felt that way, too.

"To tell you the truth, it feels like we won a championship," Wright said. "Been a long time, know what I mean? It's a good feeling and I'm just happy it's over."

The Heat were able to escape with a 98-96 win over the Indiana Pacers to end the franchise's second-longest streak of futility. It would seem it hard to believe that a team with two future Hall-of-Famers in O'Neal and Riley and another one on the way in Wade could drop 15 consecutive contests. But it happened. And for now, the Heat can have a good sigh of relief.

After facing an 11-point deficit, the Heat stormed back in the third quarter to tie the game up going into the final stanza of play. Dwyane Wade hit a three-point shot with 4:34 left to play to give Miami a 94-85 lead, but the Pacers stormed back. And for a minute, it looked like the Heat would drop yet another game. But Wade made a fade-away jumper with 48 seconds left to give the Heat a 98-94 advantage, and the Pacers could not grab hold of the lead any longer.

This was a complete team effort. Wade appeared to be bothered by his left knee, but that didn't stop him from scoring 35 points on 20 field-goal attempts. Wade also collected eight rebounds and four assists. His backcourt mate, Jason Williams, struggled offensively. However, Williams still found ways to contribute. White Chocolate dished out eight assists, snatched a career-high six steals, and had just one turnover in 36 minutes.

Mark Blount continues to impress, as he scored 10 of his 19 points in the final quarter. Blount appears to be getting very comfortable with the pick-and-pop play. In addition, his activeness has been able to mesh well with Miami's style. Still, the view could be that Riley is trying to use Blount, who could start on some teams, as trade bait with his ludicrous contract. However, Blount has been proven to be a serviceable big man, even if he is a very expensive backup to Shaquille O'Neal.

Earl Barron, Blount's backup, scored 10 points. However, Blount and Barron grabbed just seven rebounds...combined. The Heat were lucky to have Dorell Wright and Udonis Haslem scrap for rebounds. Wright contributed 10 rebounds to go with 14 points. Haslem, meanwhile, collected nine rebounds with 12 points.

Despite the win, the Heat aren't any better today than they were two days ago. A concern for the team is Dwyane Wade, who was forced to play 40 minutes on a sore knee. Wade's relief options, Ricky Davis and Daequan Cook, struggled last night. Riley must know that he cannot wear his franchise player down in a season that is already lost.

More good news could be on the way for the Miami Heat, as Shaquille O'Neal said he would come back as soon as possible. On a lighter note, O'Neal also said he wasn't bothered by Dwight Howard being picked ahead of him. He even went as far to say that if his string of 14-consecutive All-Star appearances comes to an end next month, he won't be "extra sad".

Things have gone straight downhill since the Heat won the championship in June 2006. After being swept by the Chicago Bulls in their season of title defense, a career-ending injury for Alonzo Mourning, and Shaquille O'Neal having ongoing hip problems, the Heat were finally able to celebrate as if they have won the championship.