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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
MIAMI (AP) -- The Miami Heat made sure they didn't leave Miami
Arena with a loss.
|  | | Alonzo Mourning loses the ball between T-Wolves defenders Joe Smith, left, and center Radoslav Nesterovic. |
Alonzo Mourning had 30 points and 13 rebounds as the Heat closed out their stay at Miami Arena with an 89-78 win over the Minnesota
Timberwolves on Tuesday night.
"It's a win, and that's all that counts," Mourning said. "At
this point, we're just trying to build up as many 'W's' as we can.
I don't care about anything else."
The Heat had played all of their home games at Miami Arena
beginning with their expansion season in 1988-89. They move into
the $212 million AmericanAirlines Arena on Sunday against Orlando.
"I've had 4 1/2 good years here," coach Pat Riley said. "It's
just like when you move into a new house: You're excited. We won't
forget all the memories here, but we're looking forward to the new
arena, and it couldn't come as a better time."
The Timberwolves had their five-game winning streak snapped and Miami won for just the third time in eight games.
Playing for the second night in a row, the Wolves couldn't play their up-tempo game and replicate Monday's dramatic 107-105 win at Orlando.
"We ran out of gas at the end," Minnesota coach Flip Saunders
said. "It's tough playing a physical team like Miami on the night
after you've played the night before. We've played well for three
weeks, but it's tough to sustain that."
Mourning sparked a 17-2 run in the third quarter that erased an
eight-point deficit and gave Miami a 62-55 lead with 4:46 left in
the period.
Dan Majerle's 3-pointer gave Miami a 56-55 edge, its first lead since early in the second quarter. Mourning started the play by
blocking Wally Szczerbiak's drive.
Mourning then scored on a layup and running jumper inside the
lane, and Anthony Carter drilled an 18-footer to push the Heat to a
62-55 lead.
"I don't remember the last time we had a run like that," Heat
forward P.J. Brown said. "The way we've been struggling, to do
that was fun."
Mourning scored seven points in the first four minutes of the
fourth quarter as Miami stretched its lead to 78-65.
"We had to dig deep at halftime," Mourning said. "We have to
keep doing that, not just in situations. We can't expect a game to
just automatically take its course in our favor.
"We needed to win tonight, and we had to use any means
necessary."
Kevin Garnett led Minnesota with 16 points, and Malik Sealy and Terrell Brandon each had 14.
"They had been in a slump and not playing their best ball,"
Garnett said of the Heat. "This was an opportunity for us to jump
on them when they were down, but we didn't do that."
The Wolves led 28-22 after one quarter period before the Heat
rallied to take a 31-29 lead on Otis Thorpe's layup early in the
second quarter.
Garnett's three-point play capped a 9-2 surge that regained the
lead for Minnesota at 38-33.
The Wolves closed the half with an 11-5 spurt, including a pair
of field goals by Szczerbiak, to lead 49-41.
Game notes
The Heat finished 252-196 in regular-season games at Miami
Arena. ... Mourning has scored 20-plus points in 17 of his last 22
games. ... Majerle had one 3-pointer, extending his streak to 22
games. Majerle's 3-point streak is his longest since joining the
Heat in '96-97. ... The Heat played without guard Tim Hardaway (knee) and forward Jamal Mashburn (ankle), who missed their 16th and fourth games, respectively. ... T-Wolves guard Bobby Jackson missed his fourth straight game with a strained right knee. ... The Wolves wrapped up a stretch in which they played five of six games
on the road. Their next three games are at home, beginning Thursday
against Chicago.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Minnesota Clubhouse
Miami Clubhouse
RECAPS
Miami 89
Minnesota 78
New Jersey 89
New York 83
Sacramento 114
Boston 101
Toronto 100
Houston 99
Denver 128
LA Clippers 105
Portland 94
Seattle 89
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