Dwyane Wade scored 32 points to help the Miami Heat ease to a 104-94 triumph over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday, the victory bringing a quick end to a two-game winning streak for the NBA’s worst team.
Wade, the league’s leading scorer, also had 10 assists as five of his team mates scored in double figures.
Wade made sure they got the win, scoring 18 points in the game’s first 10 minutes, then silencing a Thunder comeback in the fourth quarter.
PHOTO: AP
He did so with his points and assists in the fourth quarter, connecting on two consecutive jumpers after Oklahoma City had pulled within five on back-to-back three-pointers by Kevin Durant.
Udonis Haslem added a season-high 15 rebounds and 11 points with Yakhouba Diawara, who replaced an injured Shawn Marion in the Heat lineup, finishing with 14 points.
Teammates Mario Chalmers and Jamaal Magloire each had 13 and Daequan Cook scored 11.
Durant had 31 points and Jeff Green added 22 points for the Thunder, who fell to 8-34. They had beaten Utah and Detroit in their two previous games.
SUNS 117, RAPTORS 113
At Toronto, Amare Stoudemire scored 31 points and Steve Nash had a season-high 18 assists as the Phoenix Suns beat Toronto for their ninth consecutive victory over the struggling Raptors.
Jason Richardson added 17 points, Shaquille O’Neal and Matt Barnes each had 16 and Leandro Barbosa scored 14 for the Suns.
Anthony Parker led Toronto with 26 points, Joey Graham scored a career-high 22 and Chris Bosh had 20 points and 11 rebounds as the Raptors lost their fifth straight.
A Stoudemire dunk with 3:18 left made it 114-109, but a putback dunk by Jamario Moon and Parker’s layup drew Toronto within a point.
Parker missed a 3-pointer from the top with 37 seconds remaining and Nash converted a driving layup at the other end.
Both Parker and Bosh missed layups on Toronto’s final possession of the game.
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