Wade thrives, Heat shut down Kobe

Basketball Betting Lines

12/25/2006 - Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwyane Wade had a spectacular Christmas afternoon, scoring 40 points, dishing out 11 assists and tying a career-high with four blocked shots, as the Heat rolled to a 101-85 over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Wade, who also had four steals, went 12-of-20 from the field and missed just one of his 16 free throws, as Miami won for the fourth time in five games. Jason Kapono added 11 points and Dorell Wright 10 for the Heat, who dominated on the boards by a 45-31 count.

It was the first time this season the Heat have beat a team with a winning record (1-9).

Kobe Bryant was limited to 16 points for the Lakers, who had a two-game winning streak broken. It was his lowest point total since his second game of the season when he had 15 November 5 at Seattle. He went 4-of-17 from the floor and missed all four of his shots beyond the arc.

Ronny Turiaf tallied 13 points and seven rebounds, while Luke Walton scored 10 for Los Angeles, which shot 39.2 percent from the field. That included a 5-of-23 clip from three-point range.

Even though a pair of legendary NBA coaches faced each other in the Lakers' Phil Jackson and Miami's Pat Riley, the game was without some of its luster due to injuries to Lakers forward Lamar Odom and Heat center Shaquille O'Neal,

Jason Williams knocked down a three-pointer in the opening minute of the game and the Heat were on top the rest of the way, progressing to their fourth consecutive home win.

Wright jammed and had a jumper during a 6-0 Heat run later in the first, as Miami widened its lead to 17-8. Antoine Walker's layup ended the first period with the Heat ahead 30-16.

Bryant and the Lakers faced an uphill battle for the final 36 minutes, and the Lakers couldn't come up with big defensive stops and were hampered by poor shooting. Turiaf's dunk had LA within 41-35 with 3:14 remaining in the half and Vladimir Radmanovic's layup cut it to a five-point deficit before James Posey's bucket ended the second quarter with the Heat up 47-40.

Walton's bank shot brought the Lakers within 53-48, but Miami came right back with Wade opening some breathing room. His driving jam widened the margin to 64-52 with 5:08 left in the third. Wade had 18 points in the quarter, and Miami held a commanding 74-64 lead going into the fourth.

The lead didn't dip under eight in the final period. A 13-4 spurt in the closing minutes sealed the win. Kapono banged in a trio of threes during the stretch for a 101-82 margin with just over a minute left.

Game Notes

The Heat have won the last three Christmas Day games against the Lakers and have won four of the last five in the series...Alonzo Mourning had nine points, eight rebounds and three blocks before fouling out for Miami...Odom and O'Neal are sidelined with knee injuries.

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