Heat Escape Late Against Nets

Coming off a disheartening fourth quarter performance against the Orlando Magic Friday night, a Miami Heat fan would have hoped that the team would play like a bat out of hell and run away with against a Devin Harris-less New Jersey Nets team.

Well, things don't always go as planned.

The Nets went up by as many 16 in the first quarter. New Jersey was getting everything it wanted, while Joel Anthony had Miami's lone field goal over the first 5:40 of play. But this young Heat team came all the way back and completed its biggest comeback victory of the season.

Miami slowly but surely cut into the Nets lead, eventually cutting the deficit to two at the end of three quarters of play on a three-pointer by newcomer Yakhouba Diawara, who finished with a season high 19 points. Coach Erik Spoelstra had his team withstand the run, but it would take 12 more minutes of good basketball for the Heat to come away with a win.

Or 17.

Miami and New Jersey see-sawed the lead throughout the final period in regulation, but Dwyane Wade made two free throws to put the Heat up, 85-83 with just 32 seconds left. It seemed like Miami would win it when Wade blocked a potential game-tying layup by Vince Carter with 17 seconds left. New Jersey retained possession, however, and Keyon Dooling made a floater with eight seconds left to tie the game. Wade missed a jump shot just inside the arc as the buzzer sounded. The game would go into overtime.

Wade and rookie Michael Beasley did it all for Miami early on in the extra period. After Beasley converted Miami's first two field goals of overtime, the NBA's leading scorer took it in his own hands. Wade made a bank shot while taking contact from New Jersey's Yi Jianlian. Wade completed the three-point play, and the Heat would take a 96-88 advantage with just 37 seconds left to go.

The Nets managed to make one late last run, cutting the lead to two with just 10 seconds left on a pair of free throws by Dooling after Wade had missed his pair just moments ago. But Miami's two rookies, Mario Chalmers and Beasley, made three key free throws to give the Heat a 101-96 victory.
Wade finished with 29 points, eight rebounds, six assists, three steals and four blocked shots.Three blocked shots came in the fourth quarter and overtime, highlighted by a block on Brook Lopez's attempted dunk. The 6-foot-4 guard out of Marquette did shoot 8-for-23 from the field and committed four turnovers, but made it to the free throw line 17 times, converting 13 of them. Wade had two points on one-of-four shooting through the first quarter, but delivered when it mattered for Miami.

Leading rebounder Shawn Marion was in street clothes against New Jersey. The four-time NBA All-Star suffered from back spasms early Saturday morning and the Heat medical staff decided that it would be best for Marion to sit out on the second night of a back-to-back. He is expected to be available Monday night against San Antonio.

Sophomore Daequan Cook started in place of Marion, and finished with 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting and three-of-seven shooting from beyond the arc. Cook fouled out after 38 minutes of play, but it was Diawara and Beasley who got the most minutes due to Marion's absence.

And they both delivered.

The French-born reserve made five of eight attempts from downtown and grabbed five boards, keeping Miami in it while Wade was off with his shot. Additionally, Diawara spent a lot of time on Nets star Vince Carter, who struggled through a 5-of-21 shooting, five turnover night. The second overall pick in last June's NBA Draft, meanwhile, logged a career high 41 minutes. Beasley didn't look timid or confused, he just played basketball. It worked out well for the first-round rookie, who finished with an economical 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting, seven rebounds, two steals and a late block on Lopez.

While Miami shot just 40.8 percent from the field, Spoelstra's supporting cast did a lot for the Heat. Udonis Haslem grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds for the Heat. Chalmers had six rebounds, five assists, two steals and late free throws that iced the game. Chris Quinn was back as the backup point guard and finished with seven points on three-of-five shooting and only one turnover in 18 minutes of action.

Even against a below-.500 team without its leading scorer, this was a big win for the Heat. After going 1-2 over its last three games, Miami needed this win before a Monday night meeting with San Antonio before going on a seven-game road trip. Though it wasn't always aesthetically pleasing, the Heat got the job done. And that's all that matters.