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Wade lifts Heat past Spurs with fourth-quarter energy

Feb 11, 2007 - 8:51 PM MIAMI (Ticker) -- Dwyane Wade provided a fourth-quarter spark that energized teammate Antoine Walker.

Wade scored 18 of his 26 points in the final period and got some help from Walker as the Miami Heat pulled away for their sixth victory in seven games, a 100-85 victory over the struggling San Antonio Spurs.

Jason Kapono had 13 points and a career-high 11 rebounds for the Heat, who also turned up their defense late and beat the Spurs for just the second time in the last 11 meetings.

Wade was quiet through three quarters with just eight points, banging his left knee in the second period. But the All-Star came alive in the fourth quarter, controlling the tempo with his offense.

San Antonio's Manu Ginobili opened with a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 69-68, but Wade responded with three straight hoops for Miami, setting a tone.

Walker, who has struggled mightily with his shot this season, threw in a runner and a left-wing jumper to push the advantage to 84-76 with 5:21 to play. He scored seven of his 10 points in the final period.

Between those buckets, Wade blocked a pair of layups by Spurs guard Tony Parker on consecutive possessions. He had two more hoops before drawing a double-team and finding Walker for an open 3-pointer that made it 91-78 with 3:40 to go.

While Wade flourished, the Spurs floundered. San Antonio went more than seven minutes without a hoop and fell to 2-4 on its eight-game "Rodeo Road Trip."

Shaquille O'Neal scored 16 points but was not a factor in the final period for the Heat, who shot 53 percent (38-of-72) and held a 46-31 advantage in rebounds.

Ginobili scored 26 points off the bench and Parker added 20 for the Spurs, who got a sub-par game from Tim Duncan. The superstar forward had 13 points and 11 rebounds but made just 4-of-10 shots and was not a factor.

San Antonio fell to 33-18 after losing just 19 games last season. Miami (25-26) climbed within one win of .500 but has not been at the break-even mark since November 12.

With both teams in somewhat of a decline, the nationally televised matchup between the last two NBA champions started slowly.

Early in the second quarter, Wade went hard to the basket and banged his left knee against the knee of Ginobili, who challenged the shot. Wade was down on the floor for about a minute but continued to play.

Jones had a pair of 3-pointers in an 11-1 run that gave Miami a 42-32 lead with 3:51 left in the first half. Ginobili scored seven unanswered points in 97 seconds to get San Antonio back in it.