MIAMI – Looking nothing like a team playing its fourth game in five nights, Miami got 32 points from Dwyane Wade and 25 more from Shaquille O’Neal to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 108-100.
The Heat shot 54.9 percent from the field, extended their winning streak to six games, won their 10th straight at home – and moved a step closer to clinching the Southeast Division title. Miami has an 11-game lead over Washington in the division race; the Heat have 20 games remaining.
Mavs 113, Raptors 105
DALLAS – Marquis Daniels had a season-high 32 points and Jason Terry added 23 to help the Dallas Mavericks beat the Toronto Raptors 113-105 on Monday night without top scorer and rebounder Dirk Nowitzki.
Nowitzki, averaging 26.9 points and 10.1 rebounds, missed his second straight game because of a bruised left knee.
Bulls 90, Bucks 85
CHICAGO – Kirk Hinrich scored 17 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, and the Chicago Bulls held on Monday night to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 90-85 and end a three-game losing streak.
The Bulls victory was their 30th, tying their most in a season since winning their sixth championship in 1997-98.
Eddy Curry, who’d been unhappy with his playing time, added 16 for Chicago.
Michael Redd led Milwaukee with 26 and had eight in the fourth quarter when the Bucks forged a strong rally that fell short.
The Bucks scored nine straight for a one-point lead midway through the third before Chicago went on a 16-6 run featuring eight points from Curry for a 65-56 lead.
Curry, who had played just a couple of second-half minutes in Chicago’s previous two losses – one at Milwaukee on Saturday night- and none at all in the fourth quarter, met with coach Scott Skiles on Monday morning to find out why he was riding the bench in crunch time.
Told he needed to play better defense, Curry said he would. And this time he played plenty in the second half, scoring 10 in the third quarter.
Redd hit two free throws and after a basket by Hinrich, he answered with a jumper to cut the Chicago lead to 87-85 with 26 seconds left.
Andres Nocioni missed two free throws with 11.3 seconds remaining, but after Tyson Chandler tipped the ball, Hinrich came up with the loose ball on a scramble for the rebound and Milwaukee fouled.
Frustrated Milwaukee coach Terry Porter was then called for a technical foul.
With 5 seconds left, Hinrich made the technical free throw and Chris Duhon added two from the line to seal the win.
Chicago took a 45-39 halftime lead with a closing 11-3 run that started with Duhon’s 3-pointer and featured two baskets by Nocioni.
Notes: The Bucks shot 63 percent in the first quarter and 30 percent in the second. … Former Bulls forward Marcus Fizer went scoreless in 12 minutes, missing all five of his field goal attempts. But Toni Kukoc, a key member of three title teams in Chicago, chipped in eight points with three assists in 22 minutes. …Duhon had 13 points and 10 assists.
AP-ES-03-07-05 2310EST
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