Associated Press
The NBA roundup …
MIAMI ó It’s only an 8-second snippet, but it perfectly shows what Dwyane Wade meant to the Miami Heat on Monday night.
Fourth quarter, 4:10 remaining, Heat down by two. Wade leaps over two players to snare a defensive rebound with his outstretched right hand. He turns around, dribbles upcourt, splits two defenders near the top of the key and drives the lane for a thundering dunk over Charlotte’s Emeka Okafor.
“It was just winning time,” Wade said after the Heat’s 100-96 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.
Yep, he was just about unstoppable again.
Wade scored 41 points, 10 in the final 8 1/2 minutes to lead the Heat back from a seven-point deficit for their fourth straight win ó extending Miami’s longest streak since the 2006-07 season.
“He took over the game,” Charlotte’s Jason Richardson said.
He’s been doing that with regularity so far this season.
Adding to his NBA-best scoring average, Wade was 12-for-22 from the floor, 15-for-19 from the line, and added eight rebounds for good measure as the now-requisite cries of “M-V-P” serenaded him from the stands. He even found Shawn Marion for the basket with 1:01 left that put Miami ahead to stay and gave the Heat just their second win in the last eight meetings with Charlotte.
“This team never goes away, kind of like us,” Wade said. “They’re young, youthful and athletic. We knew it was going to be a battle. We just had to stop them on the defensive end.”
Mario Chalmers scored 15 points and Marion finished with 13 for Miami.
Richardson scored 24 for Charlotte, but missed two free throws that would have tied the game with 32.3 seconds remaining. Okafor added 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Bobcats.
Warriors 112, Thunder 102
OKLAHOMA CITY ó Andris Biedrins had 17 points and 21 rebounds, and Golden State Warriors ended its nine-game losing skid by holding off a late surge led by Kevin Durant.
Grizzlies 109, Rockets 97
MEMPHIS, Tenn. ó Rudy Gay scored 20 points, Hakim Warrick and O.J. Mayo added 18 points apiece and the Grizzlies won their second straight at home.
Memphis made its first six 3-pointers to build an early lead