Heat 110, Nets 99
MIAMI -- Dwyane Wade had 30 points and nine assists to lead the Miami Heat to a 110-99 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night at American Airlines Arena.
Wade, who made 14 of his 19 shots from the floor, had 17 of his points in the first half. He injured his thumb in the first half but returned to the game.
The Heat got a career-high 27 points from backup center Hassan Whiteside. Miami also received valuable contributions from its rookies, 16 points from rookie Josh Richardson and 13 points from Justise Winslow.
However, Winslow took a fall after a fourth-quarter drive to the hoop and immediately limped to the trainer's room.
Joe Johnson, playing his first game against Brooklyn since the Nets released him on Feb. 27, had two points, four rebounds and seven assists as Miami (43-30) won for the 11th time in the past 15 games.
Brooklyn (21-52) fell to 7-28 on the road this season.
The Nets were led by center Brook Lopez, who had 26 points. Thaddeus Young added 20 points and nine rebounds. He made his first 10 shots and finished 10-of-12 from the floor.
Johnson, who got off to a hot start, had five first-quarter assists as the teams played to a 27-27 stalemate.
There were nine lead changes in the first half before the Heat went into the break with a 57-52 lead. Both teams shot 61 percent in the first half, but Miami gained a 40-28 advantage in terms of points in the paint.
Miami went on a 16-4 run in the third quarter and entered the fourth with an 82-75 lead. Wade had nine points in the third quarter, and Richardson had seven, including two 3-pointers.
NOTES: Heat PG Goran Dragic (fever) missed the game and was replaced in the starting lineup by rookie second-round pick Josh Richardson. It was Richardson's second start of the season and his first since Nov. 12. ... Nets third-year PG Shane Larkin, a former Miami Hurricanes star, started his third straight game. "His speed and quickness in the open court have been a good lift for us," Nets coach Tony Brown said. ... Nets third-year SG Sergey Karasev started for the fourth time in five games. He played off the bench in his first 32 games this season. ... If the Heat make the playoffs this season, it would be 17 times since 1996. During that span, only the San Antonio Spurs have done it more.