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Howard, Magic hammer Sixers in season-opener
posted 10/29/09 12:12 am
ABC 7 News - Howard, Magic hammer Sixers in season-opener
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(Sports Network) - Dwyane Wade had 26 points, five rebounds and five assists, and the Miami Heat used a strong third quarter to rout the New York Knicks, 115-93, in the season opener for both clubs.

Wade went 10-of-22 from the field for the Heat, who outscored New York, 34-15, in the third quarter to take a commanding lead. Jermaine O'Neal added 22 points and 12 rebounds in the win for Miami, which was ousted in seven games by Atlanta in the first round of last season's playoffs.

Michael Beasley, who had a tumultuous summer battling drug problems, added 21 points, while Daequan Cook had 15. Mario Chalmers contributed 11 points for the Heat.

"It was nice to get everybody involved," said Wade. "Guys had big games, like J.O. (O'Neal), who had one of his best games statistically as a Heat player. Bease (Beasley) was really effective tonight. The guys coming off the bench were doing their job."

David Lee and Danilo Gallinari each had 22 points to lead the Knicks, and Lee added nine rebounds in the setback. Wilson Chandler added 21 points, while Al Harrington had 15 points for New York, which finished 32-50 last season and missed the playoffs for the fifth straight season.

"We had a breakdown defensively," said Harrington. "We let our offense affect our defense. When we stopped making shots, we hung our heads and didn't have the same energy defensively. We were getting scored on and not scoring on the other end."

Cook scored eight points in five minutes off the bench in the first quarter, as Miami grabbed an early 27-23 lead.

The Heat then went on a 12-3 run late in the first half to take a 56-47 advantage into the locker room. Tied at 44 with 3 1/2 minutes left in the second quarter, Beasley scored three of the team's next four baskets, and his 20-foot jumper put Miami in front by four with just under two minutes to go.

From there, O'Neal had two dunks sandwiched around a Wade basket to open up a 10-point margin, and Gallinari's free throw accounted for the halftime margin.

Miami dominated the third quarter to take an insurmountable lead.

A Lee layup brought the Knicks to within seven, 58-51, but the Heat answered with a 23-4 run that put the game away. Chalmers' jumper ended a string of six straight points to put Miami ahead by 13, and Wade ended an 11-0 burst shortly thereafter with a layup for a 75-53 margin.

After a Chandler basket for New York, Beasley hit a jumper, and O'Neal followed with two dunks for a commanding 26-point advantage.

The third quarter ended with the hosts ahead, 90-62, and the Knicks didn't get closer than 19 points in the fourth.

Game Notes

Miami won the season series last year, 2-1...Before the game, the Heat retired No. 10 in honor of Tim Hardaway. Hardaway, who played parts of six seasons with Miami and had career averages of 17.7 points and 8.2 assists, became the second Heat player to have his number retired. Alonzo Mourning is the other, and the team has also retired No. 23 in honor of Michael Jordan....Miami went 43-39 last year and was the fifth seed...New York hasn't made the playoffs since 2004 and hasn't won a playoff game since 2001.



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