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Wade rallies Heat past Trail Blazers

Mar 19, 2015 - 3:27 AM Miami, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Dwyane Wade took over down the stretch, scoring 15 of Miami's final 17 points in a 108-104 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday.

Trailing 102-97, the Blazers scored seven straight points to take the lead. Arron Afflalo made a 3-pointer before LaMarcus Aldridge made two short jumpers to make it 104-102 with 52.1 seconds left.

Wade responded with a pair of jumpers around a miss from Aldridge to give the Heat a two-point edge with 13.6 seconds remaining. The Blazers were then called for a backcourt violation, and Wade added two free throws to seal the victory.

"This is what I love to do," Wade said. "This is the fun part of this game. I mean, obviously the last couple years I had to do what I had to do for that team. But now for this team I get to be a little bit back to my usual self, having the ball. I'm not going to do it right every time, but I like my chances most nights."

Wade ended with 32 points and six assists for the Heat, who overcame an 11- point deficit. Luol Deng made four 3-pointers en route to 24 points and Goran Dragic added 20 points and 11 assists.

Aldridge had 34 points and 12 rebounds for the Northwest Division-leading Blazers, who have lost two in a row since a three-game winning streak. Damian Lillard and Afflalo contributed 17 and 15 points, respectively.

Trailing 61-50 early in the third quarter, the Heat put together a 14-4 run to make it a game. Udonis Haslem's 3-pointer had Miami within 65-64 with 7:14 left. The home team was down two, 81-79, heading to the fourth.

Down 88-85, the Heat used an 11-0 surge. Wade scored the final five points of the burst to give Miami a 96-88 edge with 5:40 to play. But Aldridge scored the next four points to keep it close.

"They picked up the pressure defensively in the second half," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "Miami played very well, particularly at the offensive end."

Earlier, the Blazers went 14-of-19 from the field in the first quarter en route to a 32-27 lead. Aldridge led the way with 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting.

Ahead 37-31, Portland scored five straight points to build an 11-point margin. Miami responded with a 12-5 run to get within 47-43, but the Blazers ended the first half on a 10-5 spurt for a 57-48 edge.

The Heat outscored Portland by a 31-24 margin in the third stanza to get within two.

Game Notes

The Heat signed forward Michael Beasley for the remainder of the season on Wednesday ... Portland went 10-of-26 from beyond the arc ... Hassan Whiteside had 12 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks for the Heat ... The Blazers turned the ball over 17 times, leading to 18 Miami points.