TORONTO, 28 February 2005 — Dwyane Wade scored 25 points as the Miami Heat won for the first time without the injured Shaquille O’Neal, downing the Orlando Magic 101-98 on Saturday.
Wade scooped 14 of his points in the fourth quarter as the home team rallied to avoid losing three straight games for the first time this season.
O’Neal missed the Heat’s overtime defeat by the Indiana Pacers Wednesday after sustaining a mild knee sprain against the Chicago Bulls the night before.
Miami (41-16) travels to Orlando to complete a home-and-home set with the Magic yesterday, with O’Neal’s status for that game uncertain.
Michael Doleac started at center in place of O’Neal Saturday and had 10 points. Christian Laettner was activated from the injured list and collected eight points in 20 minutes.
Eddie Jones added 15 points for Miami and Damon Jones chipped in with 14.
Grant Hill led the Magic with 28 points while Steve Francis had 16 points and Hedo Turkoglu 14. Jameer Nelson registered 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for Orlando.
In Philadelphia, Mike Bibby posted 19 points as the Sacramento Kings edged the 76ers 101-99 to spoil Chris Webber’s debut.
Six Kings scored in double figures as Sacramento hung on to win on Webber’s first appearance since he was dealt to the Sixers Wednesday. Webber contributed 16 points and 11 rebounds for Philadelphia while Allen Iverson had 27 points and 14 assists.
In Charlotte, Antonio Davis claimed 20 points and Ben Gordon hit a three-pointer late in the fourth quarter as the Chicago Bulls overcame the Bobcats 94-90.
Eddy Curry added 16 points for the Bulls and Othella Harrington chipped in with 12.
Emeka Okafor had 26 points and 12 rebounds for the Bobcats while Kareem Rush scored 13 points.
In New York, Stephon Marbury grabbed 21 points to carry the Knicks to their second win in a row, a 90-79 decision over the Indiana Pacers. Jamal Crawford scored 17 points for New York and Kurt Thomas 16. Jermaine O’Neal led the Pacers with 24 points and nine rebounds but his team’s five-game winning streak was snapped.
In San Antonio, Lorenzen Wright recorded 19 points as the Memphis Grizzlies shocked the Spurs 84-82.
Mike Miller added 12 points for the Grizzlies, who handed the Spurs only their second loss in 26 home games this season. Tim Duncan spearheaded San Antonio’s offense with 27 points and 19 rebounds.
In Dallas, Joe Johnson’s jumper with 4.7 seconds left gave the Phoenix Suns a 124-123 win over the Mavericks. Amare Stoudemire had 33 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Suns, who won their second successive game without the injured Steve Nash in their line-up.
Jason Terry registered 27 points and seven assists for the Mavericks, who had their season-high, six-game winning streak snapped.
