EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Dwyane Wade scored 23 points, Penny Hardaway added 16 in his best game since returning to the NBA, and the Miami Heat beat the New Jersey Nets 91-87 Saturday night for their second victory of the season.

Shaquille O’Neal had 18 points for the Heat (2-8), who snapped a three-game skid and sent the Nets to their fifth straight loss. Hardaway was 6-of-6 from the field, making three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.

Wade was only 4-for-17 from the floor in his third game of the season, but made 15 of 20 free throws before a clinching jumper in the final second.

Hornets 100, Timberwolves 82

MINNEAPOLIS – Peja Stojakovic scored 22 points, Morris Peterson had 18 and the Hornets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 100-82 on Saturday night for New Orleans’ fifth straight win.

Playing without star point guard Chris Paul – their second-leading scorer who sat out due to a sprained right ankle suffered in Friday’s overtime win at Memphis – the Hornets found other ways to key their offense and extended their franchise-best start to 9-2.

Pacers 117, Jazz 97

INDIANAPOLIS – Mike Dunleavy scored 25 points, and the Indiana Pacers beat the Utah Jazz 117-97 on Saturday night to snap a six-game losing streak.

Danny Granger had 19 points and Jamaal Tinsley had eight points and 13 assists for the Pacers (4-6).

Marquis Daniels scored 17 points for Indiana after sitting out Friday’s loss at Toronto with a sore left knee, and Shawne Williams added 16 points and eight rebounds.

Carlos Boozer led the Jazz with 19 points and Andrei Kirilenko added 12. They were the only Utah players to reach double figures in a game the Jazz never led.

Indiana made 11 of 23 3-pointers, while Utah made 2 of 9. Dunleavy made 3 of 6 3-pointers, Williams made 2 of 5 and Granger made 2 of 4.

Bobcats 100, SuperSonics 84

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Gerald Wallace scored 27 points, Jason Richardson added 23 and the Charlotte Bobcats wore down a weary Kevin Durant and the Seattle SuperSonics in a 100-84 win on Saturday night.

Raymond Felton added 13 points and 12 assists, Emeka Okafor added 12 points and 15 rebounds, and the Bobcats set a franchise record by limiting Seattle to 31 percent shooting, a night after the Sonics won an emotional double-overtime game in Atlanta.

Wizards 109, Trail Blazers 91

WASHINGTON – Antawn Jamison had 30 points to lead the short-handed Washington Wizards over the Portland Trail Blazers 109-91 on Saturday night.

About an hour before the start of the game, the Wizards said that Gilbert Arenas, who had surgery on his left knee in April, would miss the game with soreness in his knee. Jamison, who entered the night averaging 17.8 points, third on the team behind Caron Butler and Arenas, picked up for his injured teammate. Jamison’s shooting wasn’t spectacular. He was 8-for-19, but he made four 3-pointers – three in the first half.

Jamison’s season-high scoring mark enabled Washington to win its fourth straight game – the first time they’ve won four straight since Jan. 15-20.

The Wizards began the season 0-5.

Antonio Daniels started in Arenas’ place and had 10 points and 10 assists, but it was Nick Young, the Wizards’ first-round draft choice, who took advantage of Arenas’ absence. After not scoring more than five points in his first six games, Young had 17 points in 15 minutes.

An 11-0 run put Washington up 11-2 in the first 5 minutes. The Trail Blazers, who are 0-6 on the road, were 1-for-9 from the field. Portland then scored the next seven points to rally.

But Jamison, who had six points in the first quarter and nine in the second, helped the Wizards built a 47-38 halftime lead.

Brendan Haywood, who had 17 points and 10 rebounds, began the third quarter with a 3-point play, and Washington extended its lead to 63-44 midway through the quarter on Jamison’s 3-pointer.

Portland, which blew a 25-point lead in Friday’s loss in Philadelphia, was led by LaMarcus Aldridge with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Jarrett Jack also had 18 points.

Before the game, Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan said he was eager to have another game within 24 hours.

“It’s a sick feeling,” he said of the loss, and he tried to reinforce that by insisting his team watch the tape of Friday’s second half on Saturday morning.

Notes: Arenas has scored 30 or more points in a game against every NBA team – except Portland. Haywood’s double-double was his sixth of the season. He had seven last season. Washington’s margin of victory was its largest since beating New Orleans 125-103 on March 17.

AP-ES-11-17-07 2138EST