Heat rising at right time; visit Timberwolves

Miami is in first place in the Southeast Division and leads the second place Washington Wizards by a commanding 10 1/2 games. The Heat are the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

The Heat play the third of a four-game road trip. Dwyane Wade scored 30 points and dished out nine assists to lead Miami over the New York Knicks, 111-100, on Sunday at Madison Square Garden.

Jason Williams finished with 21 points, six rebounds and nine assists in the win over New York the Heat, who have won five in a row and 15 of their last 16 games overall. Shaquille O’Neal ended with 18 points on 9-of-13 from the floor in the victory.

Miami, which will visit the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday at The Palace of Auburn Hills, is a solid 19-14 on the road this season.

The Timberwolves attempt to win back-to-back games this evening. On Sunday, Kevin Garnett scored 37 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as Minnesota defeated the Sacramento Kings, 95-89, at the Target Center.

Trenton Hassell scored 12 points in the win over Sacramento for the Timberwolves, who snapped a seven-game losing streak. Rookie Rashard McCants netted 11 off the bench for Minnesota, while center Mark Blount scored 10 in the victory.

Minnesota is 19-14 at the Target Center this season. It has won four of its last five at home.

This is the second and final meeting of the season between the clubs. On January 1st, Wade scored 19 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out nine assists to lead the Heat to a 97-70 rout of the Timberwolves at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Miami, which has won two straight in this series, has lost five straight and seven of its last eight at Minnesota.