Miami wins! Miami wins!

Posted January 26, 2008 10:00 pm

Associated Press

A joyous Pat Riley walked into the Miami Heat locker room, one of his patented inspirational post-game speeches at the ready.

His team never gave him a chance. And really, nothing needed to be said. The scoreboard told the story.

Dwyane Wade scored 35 points, Mark Blount added 10 of his 19 in the pivotal fourth quarter, and the Heat beat the Indiana Pacers 98-96 on Saturday to snap a 15-game skid -- the longest in the NBA this season and the second-longest in franchise history.

"You don't like to be part of that every day," Riley said. "So they're just happy this thing is over with."

The scene at the final buzzer was championship-caliber.

Indiana's final play started with 5.8 seconds left, when Wade knocked the inbounds pass into the backcourt. Andre Owens picked up the ball, got just over halfcourt and released a desperation toss that wasn't close.

And with that, Heat relief.

Article Comments

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.