Michael Beasley was just following orders and it worked to perfection on Wednesday night.
Beasley’s put-back slam of a missed shot by Dwyane Wade with 1.6 seconds remaining lifted the visiting Miami Heat to a dramatic 99-98 victory over the Orlando Magic.
“I was just doing what D-Wade’s been telling me to do all season, that’s when he drives, go baseline,” said Beasley, who had 15 points and 12 rebounds. “In his case it was a shot, a bad shot, I got the rebound and the made the put-back.”
Trailing by a point, Wade weaved through three defenders before putting up a jumper from the free-throw line that fell short. Left unguarded, Beasley soared in for the rebound and the game-sealing dunk.
Orlando protested the basket should have been disallowed because of offensive interference, but the call stood and the Magic’s five-game winning streak came to an end.
“I think it was an assist, he [Beasley] thinks it’s a rebound,” Wade said. “It’s debatable.”
Wade scored 16 of his 24 points in the final frame as Miami (9-5) climbed out of an 11-point hole to post their second win in the last 14 meetings against the defending Eastern Conference champions and first in seven visits to Orlando. James Jones scored 16, while Jermaine O’Neal finished with 13 and 15 boards.
“I’m the guy they look to push us over the hump, I had to impact the game some way,” Wade said. “In the fourth quarter, all my teammates said: ‘Look, we’ve seen you score 20 points before, so you all right?’ I said you’re right. When I went back in, I stayed aggressive and got the ball to fall a little bit.”
Jason Williams led Orlando (11-4) with a season-high 25 points, but missed two critical free-throws with 9.7 seconds left that would have given the Magic a three-point cushion. Vince Carter scored 22, while Dwight Howard finished with 12 and 16 rebounds.
“We get defense on Wade, and Beasley goes untouched to the basket to tip the ball in,” Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said. “When you don’t get a body on a rebounder at the end in a hard fought game like that, you probably deserve to lose.”
CAVALIERS 98, PISTONS 88
LeBron James had 34 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, as the visiting Cavaliers sent the Pistons to their sixth straight loss.
SPURS 118, WARRIORS 104
Frenchman Tony Parker scored 32 and Tim Duncan had 20 with 10 rebounds as the Spurs withstood a 42-point effort by Monta Ellis for their third straight win.
MAVERICKS 130, ROCKETS 99
Jason Terry scored 27 points and Jason Kidd moved past Mark Jackson into second place on the NBA’s all-time assist list (10,337) as the visiting Mavericks routed the Rockets for their sixth win in seven games.
NUGGETS 124, TIMBERWOLVES 111
Carmelo Anthony scored 22 points and Brazilian Nene had 17 as the Nuggets sent the Timberwolves to their 14th straight defeat. Corey Brewer had a career-best 22 points with 13 boards for Minnesota (1-14), who beat New Jersey on opening night last month.
TRAIL BLAZERS 93, NETS 83
Greg Oden scored 18 points to lead six players in double figures as the Trail Blazers sent the winless Nets to their 15th consecutive loss. Brook Lopez had 32 and 14 rebounds for New Jersey, who are two victories shy of matching the NBA all-time worst mark to start a season.
PACERS 86, CLIPPERS 73
Troy Murphy and Dahntay Jones scored 18 points apiece as the Pacers (6-7) overcame the absence of All-Star Danny Granger (left knee) to stop their four-game losing streak. Baron Davis scored 25 points, while Marcus Camby added 15 points with 21 rebounds for the Clippers (6-10), outscored 52-30 in the second half.
SUNS 126, GRIZZLIES 111
Amare Stoudemire scored 18 of his 28 points in the third quarter and Steve Nash handed out 16 assists as the Suns took over sole possession of the NBA’s best mark at 12-3.
CELTICS 113, 76ERS 110
Paul Pierce scored 27 points and Kevin Garnett had 19 as the Celtics sent the Sixers to their fourth straight loss. Andre Iguodala led Philadelphia (5-10) with 25 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.
BOBCATS 116, RAPTORS 81
Gerald Wallace had 31 points with 13 rebounds as the Bobcats (5-9) routed the visiting Raptors for their most-lopsided victory in team history.
HORNETS 102, BUCKS 99, OT
David West had 27 points with 10 rebounds and Darren Collison had 18, including the three-pointer to send the game into overtime, as the Hornets beat the visiting Bucks for the sixth straight time. Luke Ridnour led Milwaukee (8-5) with 23 points.
KINGS 117, KNICKS 97
Donte Greene matched a career high with 24 points, including six three-pointers, rookie Tyreke Evans had 19, 11 rebounds and seven assists, as the Kings ended a four-game slide. David Lee topped New York (3-12) with 25 points and 12 rebounds.
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