Wade, Miami outlast Clippers

The Heat sank their final eight free throws -- including three by Shaquille O'Neal -- and beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 118-114, last night in Miami.

Miami won with hot shooting from the field early, and from the free-throw line in the final 3 1/2 minutes.

Dwyane Wade, who clinched the win by making two free throws with eight seconds left, had 28 points, 11 assists and four blocks. O'Neal had 25 points and Gary Payton added 19, sinking a season-high five 3-pointers.

Elton Brand had 31 points for the Clippers, who lost despite shooting 54 percent. Cuttino Mobley added 28 points and 11 assists.

Miami shot a season-best 67 percent in the first half, while Los Angeles was at 59 percent and trailed 67-62.

The Heat fell behind by 6 in the third quarter but rallied and took the lead at 85-84. There were four more lead changes to come.

Sam Cassell's 3-pointer put the Clippers ahead, 109-108, with 2:30 to go, but the Heat regained the advantage on two free throws by O'Neal, and James Posey's 3-pointer made it 113-109.

James Singleton's 3-pointer with 9 seconds left cut the margin to 115-114, but Udonis Haslem sank one free throw after being fouled before the ball was inbounded, and Wade's free throws sealed the win.

The Heat led 42-33 after the first period, their highest-scoring quarter of the season.

Hornets 94, Bucks 93 -- David West hit a foul line jumper with 0.1 seconds left to lift New Orleans past Milwaukee in Oklahoma City.

Speedy Claxton, who scored 12 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, took an inbounds pass with 7.1 seconds left and passed to West for the winner.

Jamaal Magloire, who'd been traded from the Hornets to the Bucks in a preseason deal, put Milwaukee ahead on a layup with 7.6 seconds left but missed the ensuing free throw.

West, who moved into the starting lineup when Magloire departed, finished with 24 points and 15 rebounds. Michael Redd scored 32 points to lead Milwaukee.

Grizzlies 86, Rockets 77 -- Chucky Atkins scored 19 points in his first start for host Memphis and the Grizzlies spoiled the return of Yao Ming to Houston's lineup.

Atkins, released from the Washington Wizards, signed with Memphis a week ago. Inserted into the starting lineup after four games coming off the bench, he responded by hitting his first two shots of the game.

Yao, who missed 21 games because of a foot injury that required surgery, had 15 points and eight rebounds. But he couldn't keep the Rockets from losing their third straight.

Cavaliers 103, Bobcats 91 -- LeBron James scored 30 points in only three quarters to lead visiting Cleveland to a victory over injury-plagued Charlotte.

The win improved the Cavaliers to 5-0 against the Bobcats, while extending Charlotte's franchise record losing streak to 12 games.

Spurs 79, Jazz 70 -- Tim Duncan scored 19 points and Tony Parker added 17 to help San Antonio open an eight-game road trip with a victory over Utah in Salt Lake City.

Manu Ginobili scored 10 and Nazr Mohammed ended a late rally by Utah with a block and a three-point play in the final two minutes to help the Spurs pull back ahead of Dallas for the best record in the Western Conference.

Trail Blazers 116, SuperSonics 111 -- Zach Randolph scored 32 points, and Nate McMillan was a winner in his return to Seattle as Portland beat the SuperSonics. Returning to where he played and coached for 19 seasons, McMillan was greeted by a standing ovation before the game, then watched his team snap a four-game road losing streak.

Hawks 120, Knicks 101 -- Al Harrington scored 26 points and host Atlanta pulled away in the second half for its biggest win of the season, a rout of New York.