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Wade, Heat snap losing streak against Magic

Jan 25, 2009 - 4:37 AM By Christopher Stock PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

MIAMI (Ticker) -- All-Star Dwyane Wade collected 27 points, eight rebounds and six assists to lead the Miami Heat past the Orlando Magic, 103-97, on Saturday.

Rookie Mario Chalmers added 20 points for the Heat, who had lost the previous 10 games in the series and defeated the Magic for the first time since February 15, 2006.

Miami used a 13-2 run to close out the third quarter and take a 83-68 edge into the fourth. Chris Quinn hit two 3-pointers and Mark Blount added one of his own during the run, but the Magic did not go quietly.

Orlando trailed 92-85 in the fourth following a three-point play by Wade but went on a 9-2 run to tie the game at 94-94 with 2:47 left. Udonis Haslem stepped up for the Heat, hitting

back-to-back shots to break the tie, and Chalmers stole the ball from Jameer Nelson in the closing seconds to seal the victory.

"We knew we weren't going to just blow them out by 20 and go onto the next game," Haslem said. "They are one of the best teams in the league, and we knew it was going to be our best game against their best somewhere down the stretch."

Wade, the NBA's leading scorer, hit 11-of-21 shots from the floor as Miami bounced back from a 98-83 loss to Boston on Wednesday.

"He wasn't just regular Flash, he was Super Flash," Magic All-Star Dwight Howard said. "He was going 200 miles per hour. It was hard to stay in front of him."

Orlando lost for the second time in as many games following a seven-game winning streak. It dropped 90-80 contest to the Celtics on Thursday.

"I think we have some guys in there who at least tonight have some dilemmas, and in their minds, they are just not focused on playing the game," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "I thought the Celtics played a tremendous defensive game on us on Thursday and I thought the Heat played a tremendous offensive game against us tonight."

Howard, who leads the NBA in rebounding and collected the most fan votes for the All-Star Game, collected 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Magic. Howard was ejected from the game with 1.1 seconds left after picking up his second technical foul for arguing a call.

"I thought he was preoccupied with a lot," Van Gundy said. "Officials and how many times he was getting the ball. I did not think that he played defensively well at all until the very end of the game. I didn't think he helped us much on pick-and-rolls."

Rashard Lewis added 21 points and eight rebounds for the Magic.

The Heat led 56-52 at halftime as both teams shot over 53 percent from the floor but would build a lead in the third.

"At halftime, we thought we played them about well as you could play them," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

Quinn drilled a 3-pointer to give the Heat a 10-point lead, 78-68, with two minutes left in the third quarter. The Heat's lead grew to 15 following a 3-pointer by Blount, who had not seen action since December 14.

"I just tried to do my job and be a professional, just being a man and my job was to be ready," Blount said. "There was an opportunity where the team needed me, and I stepped up."

Miami recorded a franchise-low four turnovers in the game, none by Wade.

"I don't know what's more shocking, the fact that we had four turnovers against a great defensive team or the fact that Dwyane had zero," Spoelstra said.

The Heat played without forward Shawn Marion, who was out with a strained left groin. Marion missed Sunday's game against Oklahoma City with the same injury and played just eight minutes on Wednesday against Boston before re-aggravating it.

Van Gundy and veteran guard Anthony Johnson also picked up technical fouls in the game.