Wade Scores 32, Heat Rally To Beat Blazers 108-104
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MIAMI (AP) — Dwyane Wade scored 15 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter, including a jumper with 13.6 seconds left to break a tie and help the Miami Heat beat the Portland Trail Blazers 108-104 on Wednesday night.
Wade made 13 of 26 shots for the Heat, who were down 11 shortly after halftime. Luol Deng had 24 points on 4-for-4 shooting from 3-point range for Miami, which got 20 points and 11 assists from Goran Dragic and a 12-point, 10-rebound night from Hassan Whiteside.
LaMarcus Aldridge led Portland with 34 points and 12 rebounds. Damian Lillard scored 17 and Arron Afflalo added 15 for the Trail Blazers, who fell a half-game behind Houston in the race for third in the Western Conference.
After Wade hit the go-ahead jumper, Portland turned it over on the inbounds pass. Wade got fouled 4 seconds later and sealed it with two free throws.
Despite trailing most of the night, Miami was up by eight with 5:40 remaining.
That left the Blazers plenty of time.
Aldridge got into the lane and scored with 1:35 left to tie the game. After Whiteside blocked a shot at the rim by Lopez, Aldridge got the offensive rebound — his 12th board, but first on that end of the floor all night — and scored with 52.1 seconds left to put the Blazers up 104-102.
Wade got into the lane and tied it on the next Miami possession, and Aldridge missed badly on the ensuing Portland trip.
Wade did the rest, even grabbing the last rebound, throwing the ball skyward as time expired and raising his arms in celebration.
The Heat were down 11 in the first half, and down 11 again when Aldridge scored to open the third.
With plenty of contributors, Miami clawed back.
Miami got assists on 10 of its 13 field goals in the third, had seven different players score and went 5 for 5 from 3-point range — the team's best one-quarter showing from beyond the arc since the first game of the 2013-14 season — to get within 81-79 going into the fourth.
Deng opened the final quarter with another 3-pointer, and Miami had its first lead since the opening minutes.
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: Aldridge had 13 of his points in the opening quarter, making him the fourth player to score that many against Miami in the first 12 minutes of a game this season. ... Portland is now 18-8 all-time in Miami, still the best winning percentage of any Heat opponent. ... Robin Lopez, continuing his love affair with NBA mascots, playfully tackled the Heat's "Burnie" before the game. Burnie was carrying signs saying "Free Hugs" and "No More Violence."
Heat: Earlier in the day, the Heat — as expected — signed Michael Beasley for the remainder of the season. ... Miami tried only two 3-pointers in the first half, and one of those was a time-running-out half-courter by Tyler Johnson. The Heat came into the night averaging nearly 10 first-half 3-point attempts. ... Deng passed Chris Bosh for the team's season lead in 3-pointers.
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