• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Wade's big second half helps Heat edge Sonics

Jan 11, 2007 - 7:08 AM SEATTLE (Ticker) -- The Seattle SuperSonics were without their ill coach. Dwyane Wade helped put the rest of the team under the weather.

Wade scored 29 points and handed out 13 assists as the Miami Heat posted a 107-103 victory over the SuperSonics, who tied a season high with their sixth straight loss.

Jason Kapono added 19 points and former Sonics star Gary Payton contributed 14 off the bench for Miami, which swept the season series with Seattle for the third time in the last four seasons.

"It's always special to come back to Seattle," Payton said. "I was here for a long time. I still love these fans and the fans still love me so it's always good to come back here."

The Sonics were without coach Bob Hill, who missed the game due to a respiratory infection. Assistant Gordon Chiesa guided the team in Hill's absence.

"I was head coach at Providence College and two of my former bosses were Rick Pitino and Jerry Sloan," Chiesa said. "I've been doing this for a long time. Coaching is all I know, I know nothing else."

Wade, who was limited to four points in the first half, took over in the second half as the Heat overcame a 55-48 deficit at the break. The superstar scored eight points in the third quarter, which ended with the score tied at 79-79.

"By coming out in the first half and trying to set my teammates up, I didn't have to use up a lot of energy," Wade said. "It allowed me to save up a lot for the end of the game when they needed me to attack and make plays."

"Wade did a great job in the game of making shots, and making some tough shots," Sonics guard Damien Wilkens said. "Thats what big time players do."

The MVP of last season's NBA Finals, Wade was at his best in the fourth quarter, when he scored 17 of his club's 28 points. His two free throws with 2:15 remaining snapped a 95-95 tie and put the Heat ahead for good.

"I think defensively we became passive in the second half," Sonics guard Ray Allen said. "We kind of let Wade attack us. The result was him getting to the free-throw line and getting easy layups."

Jason Williams had 14 points and six assists and Udonis Haslem added 13 points and 10 rebounds for Miami, which shot 53 percent (39-of-74) from the field.

Miami has won consecutive games following a five-game losing streak.

"It feels good to win, I'll tell you that much," Kapono said. "For some reason for us the first half is always a struggle."

Allen scored 29 points and Chris Wilcox added a season-high 28 for Seattle, which has lost 14 of its last 17 games.

Nick Collison added 21 points and nine rebounds for the SuperSonics, who shot 48 percent (41-of-86). The third-year forward had career highs of 29 points and 21 rebounds in Tuesday's loss at Phoenix.