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Heat snag playoff spot by topping Knicks
Dwyane Wade hit a 22-foot fadeaway jumper at the buzzer, extending Miami's winning streak to 10 games and making the Heat the first team to clinch a playoff spot with a 98-96 victory Tuesday night over the New York Knicks.
Wade was isolated against rookie defender Trevor Ariza at the top of the key for Miami's final possession, which began on an inbounds pass with 14 seconds remaining. Switching his dribble from hand to hand and using his quick footwork, Wade gave himself just enough room to shoot and nailed the game-winner before sprinting downcourt to celebrate.
Miami, which had a 14-game winning streak earlier this season, became the first Eastern Conference team since the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls to have two double-digit winning streaks in a single season.
Wade finished with 24 points and five assists, Shaquille O'Neal scored 23 and Damon Jones made six 3s for 18 points.
Stephon Marbury led New York with 24 points, Tim Thomas added 20 and Jamal Crawford had 12 assists.
Miami improved to 3-0 against the Knicks this season and 27-4 against teams with sub-.500 records. The Heat have not lost since Feb. 23.
The loss was a frustrating one for the Knicks, who gave one of their better all-around efforts of the season but came up short.
New York had a chance to go ahead on the game's next-to-last possession, but Kurt Thomas came up short on an 18-footer from the corner. Miami rebounded and called its final timeout, and Wade took care of the rest.
Miami got off to a strong start, using a 15-2 run in the first quarter to take a 27-16 lead. Crawford got the Knicks back into it in the second quarter, finishing the first half with seven assists to lead New York to a 50-44 lead at the break.
O'Neal finally made a foul shot after missing his first seven — nine actually, including a pair of misses that were retried due to lane violations — with 7:21 left in the third quarter. But the Heat played from behind throughout the period and trailed 78-68 entering the fourth quarter.
An 8-0 run made it a two-point game at 83-81, and Keyon Dooling made a pair of foul shots to give Miami an 87-85 lead with 5 minutes left. Neither team led by more than four points the rest of the way.
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