Heat at Full Throttle to End Thunder Home Streak

Miami finally had its Big 3 of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh reunited, and Oklahoma City's top trio was at its best, too.

Yet none of those stars came away with the biggest shot of the game.

Eddie House hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 22.2 seconds left, then added two free throws to seal the Miami Heat's 108-103 victory in a Sunday showcase in which their All-Star triumvirate played together for the first time in nearly three weeks.

"Any time Eddie raises and shoots, you think it's going in," Wade said. "He's one of those guys that look for the moment."

Wade scored 32 points, James added 23 points and 13 rebounds and Bosh had 20 points -- and coach Erik Spoelstra pulled the right string by putting House into the lineup during a timeout after Kevin Durant's jumper had put the Thunder up 103-102 with 34.3 seconds left.

Wade missed a jumper from the left wing, Mike Miller snagged the rebound and kicked it out to James, who passed it over to House for a 3 on the right sideline that made it 105-103.

"He's a unique player because he's ready and ignitable without rhythm minutes. Not many players in this league, you can do that," Spoelstra said. "You throw him in, he hasn't played, if he's been sitting for a while, he feels like he's hot."

Durant scored 33 points but missed a contested jumper along the left baseline with 15 seconds left that would've put the Thunder back on top. Jeff Green had 23 points and 11 rebounds, and Russell Westbrook added 21 points and 10 assists as Oklahoma City's top three scorers all reached 20 points for just the third time this season.

It still wasn't enough to match a similar performance from Miami's Big 3, who all eclipsed 20 points in the same game for the 11th time. The Heat are 9-2 when that happens.

"I don't look at it as the 'big three.' They may look at it like that over there, but over here we're a whole group," Durant said.

After House's go-ahead 3, James contested Durant's attempt to tie it at the other end and Nick Collison swatted the rebound toward midcourt. Wade tracked it down and got fouled, hit his first free throw before missing the second, and that rebound was initially awarded to the Thunder after it went out of bounds under the basket with 6.9 seconds left.

James walked back to the huddle saying confidently, "It's our ball" -- and a replay proved him right. The ball deflected off Collison, and House hit two free throws to close it out.

"We don't take moral victories here. We wanted to win that game," Durant said. "We had the game won and we just didn't. Moral victories have been out the door for two years now."

Bosh had been sidelined four games with a sprained left ankle and Wade had missed two of those game due to migraine headaches and a wrist injury. Before that, James missed two games, also with a sprained left ankle. It had been since Jan. 12 since all three played together.

"It felt good to have guys back. It threw us off a little bit early. We hadn't played with each other for a while. But with Chris coming back early, to try to gut it out and go tonight, we needed just to get wins," Wade said. "Hopefully, we can build on it."

The Heat had been scuffling, losing five of six before beating Detroit by a point Friday night on James Jones' disputed block of Austin Daye's dunk at the buzzer. Oklahoma City, meeanwhile, had lost three of four and then needed overtime to beat Minnesota and Washington -- both in last place -- in their last two games.

Wade staked the Heat to their largest lead by spinning away from Westbrook for a jumper along the left baseline that made it 98-90 with 5:51 to play and finished a 13-2 run.

But Wade was still upset after Serge Ibaka blocked his layup attempt on Miami's next possession and drew a technical foul after Green got a fast-break layup at the other end that would start a 13-4 comeback for Oklahoma City.

Westbrook and Durant each hit a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to one, and the Thunder got a chance to go ahead after Bosh's missed jumper on a failed attempt to draw a foul against Durant -- with the same rip move Durant uses frequently to catch opponents reaching in against him.

Durant came around a screen and connected on a jumper from the top of the key with 34.3 seconds left to put Oklahoma City up 103-102. It was one of only two shots Durant made in 10 second-half attempts, with most of his damage coming from foul line. He was 11 for 13 in the second half and finished 16 for 19.

"We had the game won," Durant said. "We played good defense on Wade, he missed the shot and we just couldn't rebound. Eddie House is a big-time, big-game player. He hit a big shot, and that's the game."

Notes

• Bosh and Durant received a double technical foul in the first quarter after Bosh hacked Harden to prevent a fast-break basket. Westbrook got one for swinging his fist in the air after being whistled for a personal foul in the final minute of the first half.
• James' eight first-quarter assists were the most in period by a Heat player this season.
• The Thunder were seeking their longest home winning streak since leaving Seattle.

Dwyane Wade Says Phil Jackson Is Jealous, Wants To Coach The Heat

Phil Jackson is the kind of guy that likes to fire shots at different people just because he can. He wasn't afraid to drop his two cents in earlier this season when the Heat were struggling, earning a rebuke from Stan Van Gundy. Dwyane Wade noticed all that too, and since Jackson has said this is supposedly his last season with the Lakers, Wade decided to fire back in an interview with ESPN's Rachel Nichols (click the video).

"I think he wants to coach the Heat when he's done with the Lakers. It's all an angle to get over here. He wants to coach us."

I don't recall Jackson ever bashing the Lakers in the late 1990s, so Wade's theory obviously doesn't hold water. But here's the more pertinent question: was Wade kidding?

Watch the video again. Sure, Wade is smiling, but it's not like he's laughing out loud. At the end, he breaks out a bit, but normally, when someone jokes about something, they follow up with a serious answer so that nobody thinks they're misinterpreted. That didn't happen here, which means Wade may actually think Phil is coming next season. Which only means one thing - there's some foul play and collusion going on here!

(OK, he's clearly kidding. I just wanted to have some fun).

Dwyane Wade Practices with Heat

LeBron James spent part of Tuesday's practice wearing tinted goggles in a playful show of support for Miami Heat teammate Dwyane Wade, who has worn them to combat migraine symptoms that forced him out of Saturday's game and have limited his preparation this week.

But the Heat don't need rose-colored glasses to envision a scenario in which at least two of their top three players would be available for Thursday's game against the New York Knicks.

Wade is still coping with a sensitivity to light caused by his recent migraines. But he practiced Tuesday for the second consecutive day and is expected to return to the starting lineup alongside James at Madison Square Garden. He sat out Saturday's 120-103 home victory against the Toronto Raptors.

"I'm getting better every day," said Wade, who ditched his original set of goggles for a specially designed pair that arrived in time for Tuesday's practice. "That's all I can ask for. I appreciate the support [from James].

"It would be funny if everybody comes in [for Wednesday's practice] with goggles on," Wade added. "That would be a very expensive bill for the Heat. These things ain't cheap."

The prognosis for forward Chris Bosh remains far less certain. Bosh has not practiced since he sustained a high left ankle sprain Jan. 15 in the fourth quarter of the Heat's loss at Chicago. Guard Eddie House also missed Tuesday's practice with a left ankle injury and is questionable for Thursday.

Bosh was initially listed as day to day, but his absence could stretch into a matter of weeks.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Bosh would have to go through a practice before he would be allowed to play -- a requirement that has typically been applied to the Heat's entire roster. If that standard holds, Bosh could miss at least the next four games.

The Heat (31-13) have back-to-back games scheduled, with Thursday's stop in New York followed by Friday's home game against Detroit. Miami is not expected to practice Saturday and starts another back-to-back set with games Sunday in Oklahoma City and Monday at home against Cleveland.

For the first time since Bosh was injured, Spoelstra sounded less than optimistic about his status.

"Chris is still getting better, but he's not ready to run full speed and certainly not ready to practice," Spoelstra said Tuesday. "I don't have any new news on his front. He's just doing all of his treatment, all the work that he can. I don't have a timetable for him. All I can tell you is he's getting better."

Spoelstra said the team wouldn't be able to gauge Bosh's return until he's able to run full speed and move laterally. He also said Bosh's high ankle sprain is not like the one sustained last summer by point guard Mario Chalmers, who was in a cast for six weeks and did not resume normal basketball activities for nearly two months.

"[Bosh] doesn't have the swelling you normally see, certainly not like Mario went through," Spoelstra said. "You can already see [Bosh is] walking around."

Bosh was on the court at the end of Tuesday's practice with his ankle wrapped in ice and a bandage. He spent time shooting free throws with Wade as team president Pat Riley watched from the sideline.

Bosh did not speak with the media Tuesday, but said last week he would avoid the temptation to rush back too soon and risk a long-term absence.

Playing almost exclusively at power forward in Bosh's absence Saturday, James focused more on his post-up game and finished with 38 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists in 38 minutes. James said he would continue to work down low with Bosh out.

"As basketball players, we want to play every game," said Bosh, who averages 18.6 points and is tied with injured backup Udonis Haslem for the team lead in rebounding at 8.2 per game. "We could lose an arm and still find an excuse to be out there. But you have to be smart about it, especially with this team. We want to play for a long time. It's still early. It's the halfway point of the year. We need to take advantage of the rest we can get right now and get healthy."

The Heat have gone just 6-4 in their past 10 games amid a recent rash of injuries, with both James and Bosh sitting out two games with ankle injuries and Wade missing one. They're nearing the end of a stretch that has included only two games over a span of 11 days -- time off that has helped them heal.

But Tuesday was also about unity, which is what sparked James to don red-tinted goggles toward the end of practice to poke fun at Wade.

"D-Wade is like a kid who transferred schools and they don't have any friends," James said. "So, I felt like putting on glasses today, I would help him be accustomed to the new school we've got going on here. I decided to join him and make him become a part of our boy scout club, I guess."