Dwyane Wade scored 17 of his 31 points in the first quarter, sparking Miami to an early lead in its 111-89 Game 2 victory on Wednesday night that evened the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Shaquille O'Neal added 21 points for Miami, which outscored New Jersey 25-4 in the game's first 5:49.
To reclaim homecourt advantage the Heat will need to win once in New Jersey, where the best-of-seven series resumes tonight.
PHOTO: AP
Vince Carter had 22 points for the Nets, while Richard Jefferson -- showing no ill effects from the ankle-and-heel bone bruise he suffered in Game 1 -- added 16. Jason Kidd had 15 points and Nenad Krstic added 14 for the Nets.
Jason Williams scored 14 points, Udonis Haslem had 11 points and 10 rebounds and Gary Payton added 11 points on 4-for-4 shooting for Miami.
Clippers 122, Suns 97
At Phoenix, the Los Angeles Clippers outrebounded Phoenix 57-26 to win Game 2 and even the Western Conference semifinals. Game 3 is in Los Angeles tonight.
Elton Brand, coming off a 40-point performance in Game 1, had 27 points and 10 rebounds as all five Clippers starters scored in double figures.
Cuttino Mobley, held to three points on 1-for-6 shooting in Game 1, scored 23, as did Sam Cassell, the Clippers' 36-year-old point guard. Chris Kaman added 14 points and 16 rebounds.
Raja Bell, who opened the game 0-for-5, led the Suns with 20 points, while Leandro Barbosa added 19 and Tim Thomas 15. Steve Nash had 14 points and eight assists, then sat out the final 5:44.
The Clippers dominated the offensive boards 19-5, leading to a 31-6 advantage in second-chance points.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
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