Until Shaquille O'Neal's sore thighs get better, Dwyane Wade is quite capable of leading the Miami Heat past anyone in the playoffs, even sweeping them.
Wade more than filled the void of O'Neal's scoreless first half by scoring a postseason career-high 34 points and setting up the big guy for most of his 17 second-half points as the Heat completed a first-round sweep of the New Jersey Nets with a 110-97 win Sunday.
"He's been a superstar, even last year," O'Neal said of Wade. "It's just now you guys are recognizing it."
Wade put up spectacular numbers with O'Neal hobbled, averaging 26.3 points, 8.8 assists, 6.3 rebounds, 1.8 steals, a block and 42.5 minutes. He shot 50 percent from the field, hitting 37 of 74 shots.
Only six other players have averaged 25 points, eight assists and six rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the floor in a playoff series. They are all in the Hall of Fame -- Oscar Robertson, Bob Cousy, Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan, the last to do it in the 1991 NBA Finals.
Wade's big game on Sunday in Miami's seventh straight win over Jason Kidd and company guaranteed that O'Neal will have at least a full week to rest his legs before the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs resumes. The layoff could last nine days, depending on the other series.
"I'm a little more confident," Wade said in comparing himself to his rookie season last year. "I know my teammates depend on me a lot more. I know what to do more now than last year."
The Heat cruised past the Nets because they hit shots and they also got contributions up and down their lineup from the likes of Eddie Jones, DamonJones, Udonis Haslem, Keyon Dooling and Alonzo Mourning, the former Net who was booed unmercifully the past two games.
"Everybody stepped up, some nights guys you didn't expect to play well, played well," said O'Neal, who averaged 18.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 33 minutes. "The whole team played well. We had six or eight guys play well."
And the Heat will be a lot better when O'Neal is healthy.
Eddie Jones added 21 points on Sunday and O'Neal shot 7-for-9 in the second half after missing all five in the first half. Miami shot 54.9 percent from the field with Wade leading the way, making 13-of-20.
New Jersey, which qualified for the playoffs on the final day of the regular season by winning for the 15th time in 19 games, was eliminated early because it shot poorly the entire series. Game 4 was another lowlight, a 39.5 percent effort that included a woeful 6-of-22 effort by Vince Carter.
"It says a lot when you beat a team four straight times," Nets coach Lawrence Frank said. "Normally, there is a letdown. Those guys kept on coming. Our guys made a big run. Once we got it up three, they took it to another level."
Kidd, who struggled most of the series, had his best game, scoring 25 points on 9-for-19 shooting. Carter added 23 points and Richard Jefferson and Nenad Krstic had 17 apiece.
After making the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003, the Nets have been eliminated in the second round last year and, now, the first round.
"It wasn't so long ago we set the bar in the Eastern Conference," Frank said. "Tables turn quickly."
Wade embarrassed Carter on an out-of-bounds play, bouncing the ball off his rear end and hitting a layup for an 89-81 edge.
"I kept thinking: `Should I do it? Should I do it?'" Wade said. "There were three guys with their backs to me."
New Jersey never got close again and the only cheers from the home crowd came when Frank emptied the bench in the closing minutes.
Wade appeared to be the only member of the Heat who wanted to end the series right away. He hit 6-of-8 shots and scored 14 points in the first quarter in helping Miami take a 27-16 lead.
O'Neal, who started the series with a sore right thigh and hurt his left in Miami's double overtime win in Game 3, had a horrible half. He was 0-for-5 from the field with three turnovers. The only thing he hit was a couple of Nets' jaws in picking up two offensive fouls, and three overall.
Pistons 97, 76ers 92, OT
In Philadelphia, Chauncey Billups carried the Pistons in the final minutes of regulation, Rasheed Wallace hit a couple of clutch 3-pointers in overtime and Detroit overcame an inspired effort by Philadelphia's Allen Iverson to take a 3-1 lead in its first-round series.
Game 5 is Tuesday in Detroit.
Billups scored 12 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter. Wallace had 17 points, and Ben Wallace added 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Pistons, who bounced back from a Game 3 loss on Friday night.
After a frantic finish to the fourth quarter that saw Billups carry the Pistons, Rasheed Wallace hit a decisive 3-pointer with 1:29 left in OT. Richard Hamilton hit a runner on the baseline with 14.5 seconds left, then sealed the win with a couple of free throws.
Iverson scored 36 points on 14-for-24 shooting and added eight assists. Chris Webber had 23 points, including several key baskets in the third and fourth quarters. Samuel Dalembert had 15 rebounds.
The Sixers led by nine with just over 6 minutes left in regulation.
Suns 123, Grizzlies 115
Phoenix Suns also wrapped up their first-round playoff series, dispatching the Memphis Grizzlies 123-115.
The Suns who completed their first postseason series sweep in 10 years.
The Grizzlies fell to 0-8 in the postseason.
Before the game, the Grizzlies announced that Bonzi Wells had missed the pregame shootaround and would not come to the game "by mutual agreement."
Supersonics 115, Kings 102
Ray Allen scored 45 points as the Seattle Supersonics took a 3-1 lead in their series with a 115-102 win over the Sacramento Kings.
The Sonics can wrap up the series with a win in game five on Tuesday in Seattle.
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The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
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