East Rutherford, NJ (Basketball News) - Shaquille O’Neal had 25 points to lead the Miami Heat past the New Jersey Nets, 108-105, in double-overtime in Game 3 of their best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal matchup at Continental Airlines Arena.
Dwyane Wade added 22 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Heat, who have won the first three games of this series and will attempt to complete the sweep in Game 4 on Sunday at the Meadowlands.
Udonis Haslem chipped in 14 points and 19 boards for Miami, which snapped a nine-game road playoff losing streak, has never swept a best-of-seven series and has just one series sweep in franchise history to its credit.
"The momentum that carried us though was the guys doing the little things," said O’Neal. "Udonis had 19 rebounds, Alonzo (Mourning) diving on the floor and the team playing together."
Jason Kidd had 16 points, 16 rebounds and 13 assists, while Vince Carter contributed 36 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds for New Jersey, which has now lost eight in a row to the Miami Heat.
Tied, 97-97, with just under a minute to play in the first overtime, New Jersey turned the ball over to Miami. Out of the break, O’Neal put the Heat ahead with a baby hook from eight feet away with 35.2 seconds remaining.
After New Jersey missed on the ensuing possession, Eddie Jones grabbed the rebound and was quickly fouled with 11 seconds left. Jones, though, gave the Nets life, as he missed both free throws.
However, Carter, just like Kidd at the end of regulation, missed a three- pointer that would have given the Nets the lead. New Jersey, though, maintained possession with 2.3 ticks remaining and Carter more than made up for his miss, as he rattled home a shot to send the game to another five minutes.
In the second overtime Richard Jefferson’s free throw gave the Nets a one point edge, 102-101, with 3:49 left. That would be the last lead of the game for New Jersey, which went scoreless over the next 3:52.
Jefferson had a chance to even the game with 46 seconds left, but missed a wide-open running layup.
The Heat then hit their free throws down the stretch and pulled out the three- point win, despite Carter’s three-pointer at the buzzer.
"Guys went to battle for a long, long time," Miami head coach Stan Van Gundy said. "It wasn’t pretty on either end. We made a lot of mistakes, but both teams kept battling. I’m happy to come away with a win."
History is not on New Jersey’s side, as no NBA team in a best-of-seven series has ever come back from an 0-3 deficit to win the series.
"The defeat hurt more than anything," said Carter. "It’s tough when you play the best team in your conference and take them into double overtime. You have to take advantage of that and find a way to get the win."
"We played extremely hard," said New Jersey head coach Lawrence Frank. "We had great opportunities. Our guys put themselves in a great position to win this game."
Trailing by four near the end of regulation, Jones drained a three-pointer to pull the Heat within one. Carter, though, had the answer at the other end and drained a trey of his own to put New Jersey back up four, 90-86, with 1:48 to play.
O’Neal then hit one-of-two free throws, and after a Jefferson misfire, the Heat got the rebound and called a timeout. Out of the break, Jones evened the game, 90-90, with another three-pointer from the top of the key.
New Jersey was then unable to hit on the next possession, but Miami was off on a shot of its own at the other end. However, a jump-ball was called following a tie-up after the Heat miss and New Jersey gained possession with 22.1 seconds remaining.
Kidd, though, missed a wide-open three at the buzzer, sending the game to overtime.
"I was disappointed because in key situations at the end we could not get the rebound," said Van Gundy. "It’s troubling to me that in a big game we can not get a big rebound."
The Nets were just 3-for-13 from beyond the arc, while Miami connected on 10 of its 22 three-point attempts. The Heat, though, missed 16 free throws.
"We’re down 3-0 and we need to find a way to regroup and find a way to win on Sunday," said Frank.
Miami Heat 
New Jersey Nets 
