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Heat set for duel in the desert with Suns

Dec 23, 2010 - 3:44 PM (Sports Network) - One game away from their big Christmas Day showdown with the two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, the Miami Heat vie to stay focused tonight against the Phoenix Suns in the desert.

The Heat have won seven in a row away from south Florida and sport a 9-5 ledger as the visitor this season. They will try to get back into the win column after having a season-high 12-game winning streak cut short with Monday's 98-96 home loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

Dwyane Wade led the star-studded Heat with 22 points in his 500th career game, while LeBron James and Chris Bosh netted 19 apiece in defeat. Miami has now lost 14 in a row to the Mavericks, who handed the Southeast Division leaders their last setback on November 27 in Big D. Mario Chalmers provided 13 points off the bench in a losing effort.

"At the end of the day, if you look at it, they have a lot more experience than us together," Bosh said of the Mavs. "They've been through a lot more, so you just keep that in mind. It's a very long season, we're still going to see these teams down the road, and we're still going to get better."

Bosh has scored 20 or more points in three of his last five games.

Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra owns 111 career wins and is only one win away from tying former head coach Stan Van Gundy for third place on the franchise's all-time wins list. The last time the Heat won eight straight on the road was March 22 - April 12, 2010. It also occurred from Dec. 6 - Jan. 7 of the 2004-05 campaign.

Phoenix hasn't been playing well lately with five losses over its previous seven games and is coming off a 118-110 defeat at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs, owners of the NBA's best record, Monday in the Alamo City.

Jared Dudley scored a game-high 27 points, Steve Nash had 17 points and 10 assists, and Grant Hill pumped in 19 points, as the Suns completed a three- game road trip with a 1-2 mark. Robin Lopez ended with 14 points in the loss for the Suns, who were scorched by a 23-3 run in the third quarter.

"That was a tough part right there," said Hill. "We competed and showed a lot of energy, but there was a stretch there where they just took over and we couldn't counter."

The Suns held San Antonio to 48.3 percent from the floor and just 27.6 percent from three-point range, but the Spurs won their second straight against Phoenix this season. The Suns are expected to unveil newcomers Vince Carter, Martin Gortat and Mickael Pietrus Thursday night after they were acquired over the weekend in a deal that sent Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu and Earl Clark to Orlando. Carter is questionable Thursday with a swollen left knee.

Phoenix is 7-5 as the host this season and has won seven of the last 10 in the desert, while Nash is averaging 16.2 points and 11.2 assists in his last 14 games. The Suns will play their fourth straight game against a team with 20- plus wins (DAL, OKC, SAN, MIA).

Miami defeated Phoenix earlier this season on Nov. 17 by a 123-96 count, as Bosh finished with 35 points and James added 20 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. The Heat have won two straight and five of the last six meetings with the Suns, who have dropped three in a row as the host in this series.