Dwyane Wade scored 50 points with 10 rebounds and nine assists as the Miami Heat rallied twice to defeat National Basketball Association rivals Utah Saturday in a triple-overtime thriller.
Jermaine O’Neal added 28 points and eight rebounds for the Heat in the 140-129 victory.
Miami erased a seven-point deficit in the final 55 seconds of regulation to force the extra period, then gave up the first eight points of the first overtime before surging back.
PHOTO: AP
The second overtime saw the score tied five times, the last when Utah’s Deron Williams drained a jump shot with 3.4 seconds left.
But the Jazz wouldn’t take the lead again, and Wade sealed the victory with two free throws with 44.4 seconds left.
He tied his career-high in scoring on a day when he passed Alonzo Mourning to become the club’s leading scorer.
PHOTO: AP
Williams scored 30 points and had 13 assists for the Jazz, who also got a season-high 25 points from Kyle Korver, along with seven rebounds and six assists. Carlos Boozer finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Jazz.
“We made them work for everything,” Wade said. “It was a total team effort.”
Utah twice seemed on the verge of victory, first in regulation and then again in the first overtime.
In regulation, the Jazz led 107-100 with 55 seconds to play, but they were out-scored 7-0 in the waning seconds.
Utah led 115-107 with 1:45 left in the first overtime, but Miami came back again with a run that included four straight points from Wade.
TIMBERWOLVES 108, BOBCATS 100
At Minneapolis, Minnesota, rookie Kevin Love scored 22 points while Rodney Carney and Ryan Gomes added 21 each as Minnesota snapped a four-game skid against Charlotte and handed the Bobcats their third straight loss.
Gerald Wallace had 26 points to lead Charlotte, whose skid follows a team-record, six-game winning streak.
The Bobcats entered the day one-half game behind Chicago and Milwaukee for the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot.
BULLS 97, HORNETS 79
At Chicago, Ben Gordon scored 27 points and John Salmons added 24 as Chicago pounded surging New Orleans despite yet another strong effort by Chris Paul.
Back home after an 0-3 road trip, the Bulls wasted little time taking it to a Western Conference contender. They went on an 18-0 run that made it 48-24 midway through the second quarter and added another 17-0 burst that bridged the third and fourth quarters, sending the Hornets to just their second loss in 11 games.
Paul scored 29 after back-to-back 30-point performances despite the Bulls’ best efforts to contain him. Paul hit 13 of 20 shots while dishing out six assists and grabbing six rebounds, but he got little help.
SPURS 88, ROCKETS 85
At Houston, Texas, Tony Parker scored 28 points while Tim Duncan added 15 points and 12 rebounds as San Antonio beat Houston.
Parker also had eight assists and Michael Finley added 17 points for the Spurs, who came up with two defensive stops in the final 15 seconds to beat the Rockets for the 12th time in the last 17 meetings.
Ron Artest scored 21 points and Yao Ming had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Rockets, who’ve lost two consecutive home games after winning the previous 12.
NUGGETS 107, CLIPPERS 94
At Denver, Colorado, Nene and Renaldo Balkman each had a double-double to help the Nuggets spoil Marcus Camby’s return to Denver.
Balkman scored a career-best 22 points to go with his 11 rebounds — his second straight double-double — and Nene scored 17 points and pulled down 10 rebounds.
Camby struggled with his shot in his first game at the Pepsi Center since the Nuggets traded him to the Clippers last summer for salary cap relief, scoring 11 points on 3-of-10 shooting and pulling down 11 rebounds.
SUNS 106, THUNDER 95
At Phoenix, Arizona, Leandro Barbosa scored 11 of his 22 points in the final six-and-a-half minutes of the game to help Phoenix rally past Oklahoma City and snap a six-game losing streak.
Steve Nash added 18 points and eight assists for Phoenix, but saw his career-best streak of seven 20-point games come to an end. Grant Hill added 16 points.
Kevin Durant, back after missing seven games with a sprained right ankle, scored 22 and Russell Westbrook 20 for the Thunder, who led by as many as 13 in the first half.
The victory pulled Phoenix to within five games of Dallas for the final playoff spot in the West with 16 to play.
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