Spurs Fall as Wade Takes Over

Dwyane Wade could only watch when Miami faltered down the stretch in San Antonio this season, a sprained ankle keeping him out of the Heat’s nine-point loss.

He made sure Miami didn’t waste its chance Sunday to beat the NBA-leading Spurs.

Wade had 13 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, including a jumper with 25 seconds left, helping Miami beat San Antonio, 96-92 -- the first time the Heat downed the Spurs since Feb. 1, 2002.

“It’s a big win,” said Wade, who made five of his final seven shots, and had six assists and five rebounds. “Everything didn’t go smooth for us, but what’s important is we beat a great team that’s playing well right now.”

The game between conference leaders -- San Antonio’s 40-12 record leads the NBA, and Miami’s 39-14 mark has it seven games ahead of Detroit in the East -- featured 22 lead changes and 22 ties, and neither team led by more than six points.

The Heat, however, stepped up in the final minutes.

“That is the best I have felt about our team in a long time,” Heat Coach Stan Van Gundy said. “Not just because we got a win against a great team, but the way we got it. It was a very hard-fought game, and we really had to battle to win.”

Manu Ginobili, who led San Antonio with 24 points, put the Spurs ahead, 85-83, with 4:15 remaining on a layup. Shaquille O’Neal made a free throw for Miami 20 seconds later, then caught a long outlet from Wade, spun and found Damon Jones for a three-point basket to put Miami up for good with 3:06 left.

The Heat became only the fifth team to overcome a halftime deficit against the Spurs. San Antonio was 34-4 when leading at the break this season.

Wade had six points in the final 2:47, including a driving layup to put Miami up, 93-87, with 1:33 left. Ginobili had five points in a row to draw the Spurs to within one, but Wade’s jumper with 25 seconds left secured the win.

“He’s a great player, and he was very aggressive tonight,” said Spur guard Tony Parker, who had 22 points.

O’Neal scored 27 points for Miami. Tim Duncan had 17 of his 20 points after halftime for San Antonio.