Wade's big fourth quarter lifts Heat over Magic

 

Wade scored 14 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter, Bosh made his first six shots and finished with 23 and the Heat held off the Orlando Magic 91-81 on Sunday night for their 13th straight win at home.

LeBron James finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and five steals for the Heat. His pass with 3:46 left made it past two Magic defenders and set up Bosh for perhaps the clincher, a three-point play that stretched Miami's lead to 84-73.

"He's the biggest piece of our team," James said of Bosh. "And when he's going, we're very dangerous. … That's what it was all about tonight."

Well, that and defense. Orlando scored 12 points in a span of nearly 16 minutes in the second half, finishing with its lowest point total in 11 games.

"Our effort defensively early in the game was not there," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "We did not come to play. That's inexcusable particularly playing on the road against a team this good and then the 20 turnovers."

Dwight Howard finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds for Orlando. Quentin Richardson was 5 for 7 on 3-pointers for a 15-point night for the Magic, who split four games with Miami this season, both teams going 2-0 at home.

The win kept Miami (33-11) one game in the loss column behind Chicago (37-10) for the NBA's best record and top Eastern Conference seed.

It was a 69-68 game before Wade made back-to-back shots to give Miami some breathing room, and the Heat never gave up control again. Wade wound up scoring 12 straight Miami points, and his assist set up Shane Battier's 3-pointer that made it 87-75 with 2 minutes left.

"I don't think (Wade) ever had a bad game against us," Van Gundy said. "Every game he's played it's been a great game. We never do a decent job on him."

James reached double digits for his 400th straight regular-season game, a streak beginning Jan. 6, 2007. According to STATS LLC, he became the first player since January 2010 to have at least 14 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and five steals in a game.

"If I'm not getting going it scoring, it's time to focus on something else," James said. "I try to be a complete basketball player."

Jameer Nelson scored 13 points and Jason Richardson added 12 for the Magic. After a three-game road trip last week that started by getting outrebounded by 10 in Orlando — then by 16 in Chicago and 12 in Philadelphia — the Heat outrebounded Orlando 42-36.

And they kept Howard in some sort of check: In Orlando's two wins over Miami this season, Howard averaged 24.5 points and 24.5 rebounds. In the two Heat wins, Howard averaged 'only' 15 points and 13 rebounds.

"It's the small things that matter in games like this," Howard said.

Like getting breaks — which Bosh got on his first shot.

His first attempt of the night slipped from his hands, went about two stories in the air and somehow dropped through the net. He wound up making his first six shots, after going a combined 7 for 27 in his previous two games.

"I was kind of like, 'Awww, here we go again,'" Bosh said. "And it went in. I said, 'All right.' Sometimes you need those, man. I hadn't gotten one all year. I thank the basketball gods and it was good from then on."

The Heat made 12 of 18 shots in the first quarter, running out to a 31-22 lead that had Van Gundy lamenting in a television interview between quarters that his team "didn't do anything well — nothing."

His assessment had to change from there, thanks to what Orlando started doing on the defensive end.

It took Miami the next 19-plus minutes to match what it scored in the opening 12, as the Magic steadily made what was as much as a 13-point deficit disappear. The Heat lead was only 50-47 at the break — a three-point play by Wade with inside of a minute left provided that margin — and Miami went on to miss eight straight shots early in the third quarter.

Even then, it was still nip-and-tuck, the Magic unable to take full advantage of the Heat going cold.

Jason Richardson's basket and foul with 8:26 left in the third gave Orlando what was then its biggest lead, 57-54. Then it was Orlando's turn to sputter offensively, scoring just six points in the remainder of the period, which was capped by James banking in an 18-footer with just under a second left for a 67-63 Miami lead.

Then Wade gave Miami just enough in the fourth, and the Heat didn't mind another grind-it-out evening.

"You have to weather a lot of storms when you play the Orlando Magic," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "And you have to stay the course."

Notes: Tennis star Andy Murray sat courtside. … Bosh had 18 points at halftime, matching his second-best opening 24 minutes of the season. The Heat are now 15-2 this season when Bosh is in double digits by halftime. … Heat assistant coach Bob McAdoo (deep vein thrombosis) and reserve center Eddy Curry (death of a grandmother) were back with the team after missing time last week. … Nelson missed about 6 minutes in the first quarter after being inadvertently poked in the eye by Heat center Joel Anthony.

Jeremy Lin, Amar'e Stoudemire reignite under Knicks interim coach Mike Woodson

 

Before his 13-point, five assist, +17 performance in Friday night's 115-100 win over the Pacers, Jeremy Lin had been nearly written off by the New York media. Interim coach Mike Woodson, Mike D'Antoni's replacement, was through to be pulling the offense away from Lin, whose status as a starter was suddenly up in the air.

But not only did Lin retain his starting spot, he facilitated the offense perfectly, helping the Knicks to make over 50 percent of their field goals against one of the top defensive teams in the NBA.

Will that be enough to save Linsanity?

Well, on the court that's a possibility. Off the court, from a merchandising perspective, Linsanity is already fading, according to Zach Schonbrun of The New York Times.

One store, Cosby's sporting goods (which is located right next to Madison Square Garden) said Lin T-shirt sales had dropped from 70 per day to only a handful, wrote Shonbrun.

"As long as they still make the T-shirts, we'll continue to bring them in," store manager Jim Root told The Times. "They're just now going to be coming in the same way other players were."

The manager at the Times Square Modell's had the same perspective.

"I guess the honeymoon has worn off a little bit," August Kuhling told The Times. "There are still a lot of people excited about him. The first few weeks obviously wasn't going to last forever."

Linsanity was alive and well at Madison Square Garden on Friday night, but it seems the market for merchandise may have been saturated.

***

The Knicks turnaround has been paced by power forward Amar'e Stoudemire's reemergence, primarily on defense. As ESPNNewYork's Johnette Howard asks, "Where has this Stoudemire been?!"

"But now Woodson's in charge," Howard wrote, "preaching more 'accountability' in every other sentence he utters. And all of a sudden, there was the Knicks defense rising up against the Pacers on Friday, just as it did when it held Portland to just 12 first-quarter points on Wednesday. And there was Stoudemire, right there with everyone else. Suddenly he was moving as if the floorboards beneath his feet were on fire. He was harassing the Pacers' David West and Tyler Hansbrough in the paint and trying to trap them way out on the wings; he smacked the ball out of Hansbrough's hands beneath the rim, blocked a shot, then blew by the Pacers at the other end of the floor for a dribble-drive basket and a dunk off a miss, which Stoudemire punctuated by doing a chin-up on the rim and then hanging there for a while."

Stoudemire has just 25 points and 14 rebounds in these consecutive wins, but as Howard puts it, "... all of a sudden even Stoudemire looks alive."

Reports: Peyton to work out for Broncos

 

Peyton Manning will work out for John Elway and the Broncos on Friday at Duke University, according to reports.

A private plane chartered by the Broncos was flying to Raleigh, N.C., apparently ahead of the session at an indoor facility on the campus in Durham, ESPN reported.

The group, led by Elway, Denver's executive vice president of football operations, flew out at 8:24 a.m. local time Friday and was scheduled to land at Raleigh-Durham Airport at 11:08 a.m., the Denver Post reported.

The development came as the NFL Network reported that the Miami Dolphins were out of the race for the four-time MVP. Multiple sources claimed Manning called the Dolphins personally Thursday to confirm he would not be relocating to Florida.

It left the Broncos, Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans awaiting Manning's decision, though the Cardinals were regarded as firm outsiders.

Whichever team wins the race will inherit a quarterback ready for NFL action, Manning's mentor David Cutcliffe said before news of Friday's workout broke.

The Duke head coach, Eli Manning's former head coach at Ole Miss and Peyton Manning's offensive coordinator while at the University of Tennessee, monitored the former Colt during recent workouts in Durham and was impressed.

"It's incredible how much progress he's made in throwing the football," Cutcliffe told The Tennessean. "He's gotten his arm strength back, and his accuracy is there."

Manning, who turns 36 on March 24, sat out the entire 2011 season and underwent four rounds of neck surgery.

His release earlier this month after 14 years in Indianapolis sparked a mass scramble within the league, buoyed by doctors clearing the future Hall of Famer to return to the field.

Cutcliffe said from a team's perspective, Manning was ready.

"I'm not an NFL coach, of course, but I think I know what it takes to complete passes in the NFL, and it's clear that Peyton can make all those throws," he said.

"From what I've seen, he's right on target [to play in 2012]," he added. "Everybody knows what a hard worker he is, and he's dedicated himself to getting ready for the season."

Bulls Finally Beat the Heat after 6 tries and did it without there Superstar

John Lucas III scored 24 points, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Miami Heat, 106-102, without Derrick Rose in a charged showdown between the Eastern Conference's top two teams Wednesday night at Chicago.

The Bulls built a 16-point lead in the second quarter, were up 11 at halftime and boosted it back to 17 in the third after a push by Miami. They then hung on after Miami pulled within two in the closing minute for their 11th win in 12 games.

Even better, they won without their superstar, and they did it on a night when Dwyane Wade scored 36 and LeBron Jamesfinished with 35 points for the Heat.

Rose didn't play because of a strained groin.

at San Antonio 122, Orlando 111: Getting 22 points and 12 rebounds, Dwight Howard lost perhaps his last game with the Magic. Tony Parker had 31 points and 12 assists, and Tim Duncan had 21 points and 13 rebounds as the Spurs closed a seven-game homestand by hosting the NBA's biggest drama. Parker, averaging 29.8 points in his last four games, was serenaded by chants of "M-V-P! M-V-P!" in the closing minutes.

at New York 121, Portland 79: Amare Stoudemire made all seven shots in the first half, Carmelo Anthony passed and shot well, and the Knicks shook off the surprising resignation of Coach Mike D'Antoni to rout the Trail Blazers and end a six-game losing streak.

at Indiana 111, Philadelphia 94: Danny Granger scored 20 points and the Pacers shot a season-best 57% from the field as a 76ers opponent scored more than 100 points for the first time in 13 games.

at New Jersey 98, Toronto 84: Kris Humphries had 16 points and a career-high 21 rebounds as the Nets ended a two-game losing streak. Former D-League star Gerald Greentied his season high by scoring 20 of his 26 points in the second half.

at Milwaukee 115, Cleveland 105: Drew Gooden had 15 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists for his second career triple-double, and the Bucks beat the Cavaliers, who got 28 points from Kyrie Irving. Gooden also had a triple-double against the Cavaliers last April, marking the last time the Bucks had a player accomplish the feat.

at Houston 107, Charlotte 87: Luis Scola scored 23 points, Goran Dragic had 14 points and 10 assists and the Rockets handed the NBA-worst Bobcatstheir 20th loss in 23 road games. Samuel Dalembert added 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Jordan Hill scored 14 and grabbed eight rebounds for the Rockets, who've won two in a row after dropping six of their previous seven games.

Detroit 124, at Sacramento 112: Rodney Stuckey scored 35 points and Greg Monroe had 32 for the Pistons, who used a 40-23 edge in the third quarter, making 15 of 20 shots, to pull away.

at Phoenix 120, Utah 111: Steve Nash took only four shots, but he dished off 16 assists as teammates Jared Dudley, Marcin Gortat and Channing Frye finished with more than 20 points for the Suns.

Boston 105, at Golden State 103: Kevin Garnett scored 24 points and made a jumper with five seconds left to give the Celtics the victory.

Warriors send Ellis to Bucks for Bogut, Jackson

ORLANDO – The Milwaukee Bucks have agreed in principle to trade center Andrew Bogutand guard-forward Stephen Jackson to the Golden State Warriors for guard Monta Ellis, forward Ekpe Udoh and center Kwame Brown, according to a person familiar with the deal who requested anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak publicly until the trade became official.

 

The deal also has a direct impact on the Orlando Magic, who inquired about landing Ellis to placate center Dwight Howard and convince him to sign a long-term deal with Orlando before the NBA's Thursday 3 p.m. ET trade deadline.

When it became known that Bogut was available, the Bucks began receiving phone calls from several teams. But to facilitate a trade for Bogut, the Bucks wanted a team to take Jackson, who will make $10 million next season.

• MORE: Howard could determine fate of Magic's front office

Jackson also wanted out of Milwaukee, where he has been unhappy since being acquired by the Bucks in a draft day trade last June.

The 18-24 Bucks have won three in a row to move into a tie with the New York Knicks for the eighth and final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference.

Ellis gives the Bucks a prolific scorer in the backcourt with point guard Brandon Jennings. Ellis is the NBA's ninth leading scorer, averaging 21.9 points, and he adds six assists per game.

However, the Bucks might encounter a problem similar to the one Golden State had: how to match two guards who love to handle the ball.

The trade frees up Golden State's backcourt, which at times struggled to play Ellis and guard Stephen Curry at the same time. It also gives the Warriors another low-post threat to pair with forward David Lee.

However, Bogut has played just 12 games this season. He broke his left ankle against the Houston Rockets on Jan. 25 and is not expected back for at least another month.