Tuesday, December 11, 2007
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Wade, Heat End Trip With Win Over Suns

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[December 11, 2007]  PHOENIX (AP) -- Dwyane Wade scored 10 of his 31 points in the final four minutes and the Miami Heat ended their longest road trip of the season with a 117-113 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Monday night.

Miami, in its sixth game away from home in nine days, had double-digit leads in all four quarters to beat the Suns for the first time in three seasons.

Udonis Haslem added 21 points, Shaquille O'Neal had 18 and Dorell Wright 16 as the Heat put six players in double figures and shot 59 percent to win consecutive games for the first time this season.

The Suns made five 3-pointers, three by Grant Hill and two by Steve Nash, in the final 1:10 but could get no closer than 111-108. Haslem made two free throws with 25 seconds to play, then Wade sealed the victory by stealing Nash's pass and dunking.

Hill, Raja Bell, Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire all scored 19 points for Phoenix, which lost its second straight to a team with one of the NBA's worst records. The Suns were beaten at Minnesota on Saturday.

The loss snapped a string of nine consecutive victories for the Suns over an Eastern Conference opponent.

Nash was 2-for-11 from the field before his late 3s. He finished with 11 points and 14 assists. Leandro Barbosa was just 4-of-17 from the field for the Suns in their first game back from a 4-1 road trip.

Brian Skinner scored a season-high 13 points, seven in a 13-2 run that tied it at 80 in the third quarter.

The Heat had season highs for points in a quarter (40 in the first), half (67) and a game.

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The Suns trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half and were down by 11 when they mounted the surge that squared it at 80 when Skinner made one of two free throws with 3:09 left in the quarter.

Miami, though, took control again, scoring eight straight, the last five on free throws, to go up 89-80 after three quarters. Wright's dunk on a lob from Wade boosted the lead to 91-80 to start the fourth quarter.

Nash's 3-pointer with 1:48 to go cut it to 106-99, but Wright followed with two free throws to put Miami ahead 108-99. Hill made the first of his two 3s, then Wade made two free throws and Hill another 3-pointer to make it 110-106 with 55 seconds left.

Ricky Davis made one of two free throws, then Nash his final 3 to cut the lead to 111-108 with 32 seconds to go.

The Heat shot 76 percent (19-of-25) en route to a 40-29 lead after one quarter. The period ended with a Suns' turnover and dunk by Wade, who was 7-for-7 from the field and 2-for-2 at the line for 16 first-quarter points.

Notes: Miami improved to 2-6 against Phoenix since Nash came to the Suns and O'Neal to the Heat in the 2004-05 season. ... Marion had four blocked shots for the fifth time in 13 games. The five four-block efforts match his total for all of last season.

[Associated Press; By BOB BAUM]

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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