Slam Dunk Central

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As we all know by now, it has been a long, long season for the Miami Heat; so much so that guard Dwyane Wade, before the game, thanked the crowd at American Airlines Arena for being patient with the team.? He told the crowd that this continuous losing won’t last forever; the Heat Tuesday were competitive and played one of their best games of the season.? Unfortunately for them, the Denver Nuggets were a tad better as J.R. Smith and Kenyon Martin combined for 52 points and escaped with a 114-113 win in overtime.

Miami shot fairly well in the first half; the ex-Phoenix Suns duo of Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks combined for a dunk, giving the Heat their largest lead of the game, 42-28; but as this season has dictated for the Heat, the lead didn’t last long as Denver’s Smith scored 13 points in a 4-minute span and the Nuggets were to within 63-57 at the half.? Denver caught up in the third quarter; a 15-2 run gave the Nuggets an 84-78 lead entering the fourth period.

Even with Smith’s best efforts, the game remained close in the fourth with neither team leading by more than 4 points; the Nuggets’ Allen Iverson made a jumper with 1:41 left in regulation gave Denver a 102-98 edge, but Miami’s Mark Blount drained a jumper with 17.5 seconds left to tie the game.? Dorell Wright blocked Iverson’s jumper, sending the game into overtime.? In the extra period, Denver’s Anthony Carter made a pair of free throws, giving Denver a 2-point lead with 1:26 left; Carmelo Anthony added 2 more free throws with 54.1 seconds remaining before Miami’s Ricky Davis made a trey with 33.6 seconds left to go, which put the Heat to within a point.? Anthony missed with 10 ticks on the clock with Miami controlling the rebound; Wade took what would be the last shot of the game - which rimmed out as time expired.

Denver was led by Smith from?off the bench?with 28 points - including 8 three-pointers, a rebound, 2 assists and a steal; Martin scored 24 with 6 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and a blocked shot.? Anthony added 22 with 11 rebounds, 4 assists,? apair of steals and a blocked shot; Iverson, while shooting only 5-of-20, scored 16 with 6 rebounds and 7 assists.? Marcus Camby had a strong game, adding 12 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and 7 blocked shots - nearly a triple-double of his own.

Miami was led by Wade with 29 points, 2 rebounds, 10 assists and 2 steals; Marion scored 23 with 18 rebounds, 3 assists, and a pair of steals.? Wright added 19 with 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and a blocked shot, while Blount chipped in with 18 with 13 rebounds.? Denver (32-19) makes the short journey north to Orlando to face the Magic on Wednesday, while Miami (9-41) flies to Chicago to take on the Bulls Thursday.