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Tuesday, Mar. 28 7:30pm ET
Heat nearly squanders 28-point lead | |||||
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
MIAMI (AP) -- The Miami Heat recovered from their great collapse just in time. After the Heat squandered a 28-point lead late in the game, Alonzo Mourning's slam dunk helped Miami rebound from one of its worst losses of the season and hold off the Phoenix Suns 81-78 Tuesday night.
On Sunday, the Heat lost to Orlando 94-69, scoring an NBA all-time low 19 points in the second half and only seven points in the fourth quarter. Then came another near-embarrassment against the Suns. Miami led 60-32 in the third quarter, but Phoenix went in front 75-73 on Rodney Rogers' 3-pointer with 2:05 left. Mourning's slam dunk put Miami back in front 77-75 and the Heat held on in the final seconds. "You saw the best of the Heat and the worst of the Heat, all in one game," Miami coach Pat Riley said. "I'm just as perplexed as our players are as to why we lose our focus in these games." Miami, which has lost three of its last five games, moved one game ahead of the New York Knicks for first place in the Atlantic Division. New York fell to Sacramento 103-95 Tuesday night. The Heat raced to a 17-2 lead seven minutes into the game and stretched that to 30-12 at the end of the first quarter. The lead grew to 54-28 at halftime, with Tim Hardaway scoring 18 of his 20 points. Phoenix, playing its third game without point guard Jason Kidd, rallied in the fourth quarter behind Todd Day's 3-point shooting. Using a 19-3 surge, the Suns pulled to 70-69 with 5:24 left, hitting five 3-pointers in the period -- two by Day, two by Rogers and one by Cliff Robinson. It wasn't enough. "If we had played like that in the first half, we wouldn't have been in that position," Rogers said. "They came out and played aggressive early, just as we figured they would after losing to Orlando the way they did. "We at least showed in the second half what we are made of." After Phoenix moved ahead 75-73 on Rogers' 3-pointer, the Heat tied the game on P.J. Brown's jumper, then went in front for good on Mourning's slam dunk. Mourning's free throw gave the Heat a 79-76 lead with 11.9 seconds left, and Rogers missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer in the closing seconds. "You don't take anything good away from this game," Mourning said. "It was pretty much the same scenario as the other day, but we did manage to get a win this time." For the Suns, it was a case of starting from too far back too late. "We played hard toward the end, but 15 minutes of playing hard is just not good enough," Phoenix coach Scott Skiles said. "Guys get paid to play hard for 45 minutes in a 48-minute game. If you're not giving that kind of effort every night, all night, then there's a problem." Mourning finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds for Miami. Rogers led Phoenix with 22 points and Robinson scored 20.
Game notes | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Phoenix Clubhouse Miami Clubhouse RECAPS Atlanta 116 Denver 111
Miami 81
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