Shaquille O'Neal celebrated his 34th birthday with a National Basketball Association victory on Monday, but he had to work overtime to do it.
O'Neal scored all eight of Miami's points in overtime and finished with a season-high 35 as the Heat once again rallied to beat an inferior foe with a 106-105 triumph over the Charlotte Bobcats.
Playing their second straight game without All-Star guard Dwyane Wade, the Heat trailed for most of the contest until O'Neal and Jason Williams combined for 27 points in the fourth quarter to force the extra session.
On Saturday against Atlanta, Miami trailed by 17 points before rallying for a 95-93 victory on a layup by Alonzo Mourning with 1.8 seconds remaining. Wade is listed as day-to-day with a sprained wrist.
After Williams sank his third 3-pointer of the fourth quarter to tie the score at 98-98 with 45 seconds remaining, the Bobcats grabbed the early edge in the extra session on a follow shot by Primoz Brezec.
O'Neal, who made 16-of-23 shots and had 12 rebounds, answered with a baseline jumper. The 13-time All-Star added a pair of dunks to make it 104-104 with 1:20 to play.
Charlotte's Brevin Knight missed a layup, and after a near turnover by Antoine Walker, Gary Payton drove the left baseline and found O'Neal for a two-handed dunk with 42 seconds left.
Bobcats rookie Raymond Felton split two free throws with 34 ticks remaining and Udonis Haslem sealed the win for the Heat by pulling down a crucial offensive rebound after a missed jumper by Payton, allowing Miami to kill the clock.
Williams scored 24 points and Haslem and Walker added 16 points each for Miami, who posted their ninth straight win and improved to 28-10 under coach Pat Riley.
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