Lakers stop Mavs; Wade returns to lead Heat

Dwyane Wade returned, and just like that Miami's skid was over. <br/><br/>A much more anonymous player helped end the Dallas Mavericks' 13-game winning streak. <br/><br/>Sasha Vujacic scored a

Monday, January 8th 2007, 6:27 am

By: News On 6

Dwyane Wade returned, and just like that Miami's skid was over.

A much more anonymous player helped end the Dallas Mavericks' 13-game winning streak.

Sasha Vujacic scored a career-high 16 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 28.5 seconds left, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Mavericks 101-98 on Sunday night.

Kobe Bryant scored 14 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, but the Mavs already know what to expect from him. They were caught off guard by the play of the 22-year-old Slovenian.

``Kobe basically took over the game, had some great shots,'' Dirk Nowitzki said. ``But really, I think it was the Vujacic guy. Those were points you don't expect. He was hot _ he made big 3s for them.''

Dallas saw that kind of thing last June from Wade in the NBA finals. The MVP of that series had another clutch performance Sunday, scoring 33 points in Miami's 93-90 victory at Portland.

The Heat had lost five in a row, including all four while Wade was out with an injured wrist. He played 41 minutes, going 15-of-17 at the foul line and helping Miami rally from a 16-point deficit.

``Dwyane Wade, of course, was the big difference,'' Blazers coach Nate McMillan said. ``Not only is he hard to defend, but he gets to the free-throw line.''

In other games, it was: Toronto 116, Washington 111; Minnesota 103, Houston 99 in overtime; San Antonio 110, Memphis 96; Orlando 87, Boston 79; and Phoenix 128, Golden State 105.

At Portland, Wade scored 25 points in the first half, then said he felt tired later in the game after his layoff. But his return was just the spark the defending champions needed as they remain without Shaquille O'Neal, Antoine Walker and James Posey.

``It was good to come out and give my teammates some confidence and pull out a win,'' Wade said.

It was Miami's first victory since coach Pat Riley took a leave of absence because of knee and hip pain and was replaced on an interim basis by Ron Rothstein.

``That Wade kid, I think we'll keep him,'' Rothstein joked.

Vujacic looked like a keeper, too. Struggling with his shot this season, he went 6-of-7 from the field, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.

``I'm really happy for Sasha, how well he played tonight,'' Bryant said. ``He comes in off the bench and always plays extremely well defensively, even when he's not shooting well. I'm proud of him.''

Luke Walton had 21 points and six assists for the Lakers, who presented coach Phil Jackson with his 900th victory. The 61-year-old Jackson ranks ninth on the NBA's career wins list, and became the fastest to reach 900, doing so in 1,264 games. Riley accomplished the feat in 1,278 games.

``It's a compliment to all the players I've had _ the great players, the great teams and the great runs that we've had,'' Jackson said. ``It's become a game in which us elderly guys are now coaching, which was an age that coaches didn't extend themselves into when I was a player. It says something about the longevity of coaches now.''

The loss was just the fourth in the last 31 games for the Mavericks, whose 27-8 record is the best in the NBA.

Nowitzki had 29 points and 13 rebounds, and Josh Howard had 20 points and nine rebounds.

``We didn't have our normal fourth quarter,'' said Mavericks coach Avery Johnson, whose team was outscored 33-21 in the final period. ``Everything we tried on them in the fourth quarter didn't work.''

Suns 128, Warriors 105

At Phoenix, James Jones scored 25 points, two shy of his career high, and the Suns cruised to their sixth win in a row.

Fellow reserve Leandro Barbosa scored 26 and Shawn Marion had 24 points and 17 rebounds in the Suns' 22nd victory in their last 24 games. Steve Nash had 14 points and 10 assists, then didn't play in the fourth quarter.

Monta Ellis scored 22 for Golden State but committed nine of the Warriors' 25 turnovers. Andris Biedrins matched his career high with 17 rebounds.

Timberwolves 103, Rockets 99, OT

At Minneapolis, Kevin Garnett had 26 points and 13 rebounds, Mark Blount had 21 points and 10 boards, and the Timberwolves won their fourth straight.

Tracy McGrady scored 31 points for Houston, his fourth straight game with 30 or more, but Houston's four-game winning streak was snapped.

Spurs 110, Grizzlies 96

At Memphis, Tenn., Manu Ginobili scored a season-high 34 points as San Antonio snapped its first three-game losing streak of the season.

The Spurs played without guard Tony Parker, who injured his right hip against Dallas on Friday night.

Raptors 116, Wizards 111

Chris Bosh had 24 points and 15 rebounds, T.J. Ford added 20 points, and the Raptors had six players score in double figures in improving their home record to 10-5.

Gilbert Arenas had 33 points, but went 7-for-19 from the field for the Wizards, whose three-game winning streak ended.

Magic 87, Celtics 79

At Orlando, Fla., Grant Hill scored 21 points and Dwight Howard had 18 points and 12 rebounds as the Magic won their fourth straight.

The Celtics played their eighth straight game without Paul Pierce, who is resting a sore left foot, and have won just two of their last 10.