Dwyane Wade scored a season-high 40 points and passed out 11
assists in a spectacular one-man Chirstmas performance to lead the
Miami Heat past the Los Angeles Lakers 101-85.
Wade hit 12-of-20 shots and contributed four steals, four
blocked shots and four rebounds while playing spirited defense
against Lakers star Kobe Bryant in sparking the defending National
Basketball Association champions to victory.
"This was a great game," Wade said.
"It's a great opportunity on Christmas Day. We wanted to go out
there and take charge from the start and that's exactly what we
did."
The Lakers, led by 16 points from Bryant and 13 from Frenchman
Ronny Turiaf, fell behind by 14 points in the first half and could
never overcome the Heat. Bryant hit only 4-of-17 from the
field.
"We just try to throw different guys at him," Wade said. "He's
got all the moves in the world. We're trying to frustrate him, keep
somebody fresh on him and make him work for everything he
gets."
Wade ranks fourth in NBA scoring with 28.1 points a game while
Bryant ranks sixth with 27.8 points a game.
The Heat improved to 13-14, matching Milwaukee for eighth in the
Eastern Conference with their first triumph of the season over a
club with a winning record.
"We've been playing well of late," Wade said. "We're not looking
at our record. We came out with a lot of energy. As long as we keep
playing like that we will be all right."
Miami star center Shaquille O'Neal, who won three NBA titles
while playing for the Lakers, didn't play on Monday. He has been
out for more than six weeks with a knee injury.
The Lakers slid to 18-10 on the season. Only San Antonio, Dallas
and Utah have won more games this season.
Wade scored 18 points in the third quarter as the Heat, who led
47-40 at halftime, grabbed their largest lead to that point at
74-58 on a Wade jumper before the Lakers trimmed the deficit to
74-64 entering the fourth quarter.
Miami's Jason Kapono sank three 3-pointers in the final quarter
and finished with 11 points.
Turiaf jammed in a slam dunk over Wade off a no-look,
behind-the-back bounce pass from Bryant to pull Lakers within 41-35
late in first half after they had trailed the Heat by as many as
14.
Bryant shot 1-for-9 from the field in the first half, managing
only four points but playing solid defense in the second quarter as
Miami went more than six minutes without a basket.
(CRI via AFP December 26, 2006)
