LOS ANGELES, 29 December 2004 — Shaquille O’Neal and Dwyane Wade took the Miami Heat to a place they have never been before. O’Neal scored 31 points, while Wade had 27 and nine assists as the red-hot Heat set a franchise record with their 12th consecutive win by grounding the Atlanta Hawks, 116-102 on Monday.
Miami eclipsed the previous record of 11 straight wins established by the 1996-97 squad, that won a franchise-record 61 games and reached the Eastern Conference finals.
Miami trailed 76-70 with 4:24 left in the third quarter when O’Neal went to the bench with foul trouble. Then Wade stepped up. The speedy second year guard scored six of his 18 points in an 18-4 run to close out the frame, putting the Heat ahead for good. Atlanta drew within 106-100 on Antoine Walker’s two free throws with just over two minutes remaining. But Christian Laettner scored five straight points to put the game away. Walker, Tony Delk and Predrag Drobnjak led Atlanta with 16 points apiece.
Pistons 100 Nets 90 (OT): Richard Hamilton scored five of his season-best 37 points in overtime as the Pistons ruined Vince Carter’s debut with the Nets. Carter was traded from Toronto on Dec. 17 but had not played because of an Achilles’ strain suffered at Detroit, ironically. The five-time all-star came off the bench to score 23 points in 42 minutes, but was forced to leave the game with 2:13 left in overtime, after suffering a severe cramp in his left hamstring. Tayshun Prince had 18 points for the defending NBA champion Pistons, while Ben Wallace grabbed 18 rebounds. Richard Jefferson scored 27 points for New Jersey, which fell to 2-17 in its last 19 visits to Detroit.
Seattle SuperSonics 98 Utah Jazz 88: Rashard Lewis scored 22 points and Ray Allen added 19, as the SuperSonics won in Utah for the first time in nearly five years. Matt Harpring scored 22 points for the Jazz, which had won eight consecutive home meetings against Seattle, dating back to Feb. 1, 2000.
Philadelphia 111 Trail Blazers 104: Allen Iverson scored 28 points and Andre Igoudala added a career- high 22 as the 76ers edged the Trail Blazers to kick off their seven- game road trip. Darius Miles paced Portland with a season-high 28 points and Zach Randolph added 25. Before the game, the Trail Blazers signed 7-foot-3 centre Ha Seung-Jin, making the 19-year-old the first Korean to play in the NBA. He was immediately placed on the injured list with lower back pain.
State Warriors 104 Denver Nuggets 101: Mickael Pietrus scored a career-high 24 points off the bench and Jason Richardson added 18, helping the host Warriors stretch their winning streak to a season-high three. Andre Miller had 21 points and a season-high 14 assists, while Nene added 19 points and nine rebounds in Denver’s six straight loss. The Nuggets played without their two top scorers, Carmelo Anthony (sprained left ankle) and Kenyon Martin (back muscle spasms).
New York Knicks 119 Orlando Magic 111: Stephon Marbury scored 34 points and the visiting Knicks rang up their best offensive effort of the season to run past the Magic.
Steve Francis led Orlando with 25 points and Cuttino Mobley added 24.
Indiana Pacers 100 New Orleans Hornets 82: Reggie Miller scored 24 points, while Jermaine O’Neal had 16, to go along with 11, helping the host Pacers snap a three-game slide. Lee Nailon had a season-high 28 points for league-worst New Orleans, (2-24). Hours earlier, starting guard David Wesley was traded to Houston for veteran swingman Jim Jackson and reserve Bostjan Nochbar.
Wizards 106 Charlotte 87: Larry Hughes had 20 points and Gilbert Arenas added 17 as the Wizards sent the Bobcats to 1-11 on the road this season. Emeka Okafor led Charlotte with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Memphis Grizzlies 96 L.A. Clippers 76: Pau Gasol scored 24 points and Bonzi Wells added 18 as the host Grizzlies sent the struggling Clippers to their seventh loss in the last eight games.
