Shaq and D-Wade on court together again

O’Neal had spent the last 35 games on the inactive list while undergoing rehabilitation from surgery to repair cartilage damage in his left knee. Wednesday marked his first action since a November 12 contest at Houston.

Although he didn’t start for just the ninth time in his career, O’Neal did enter the game with 4:49 remaining in the opening quarter and the Heat behind, 17-16. Less than a minute later he grabbed his first rebound, but had a shot blocked at the other end by Jermaine O’Neal after trying to power to the bucket.

Wade missed Monday’s 101-83 home win over the New York Knicks due to a sprained left ankle.

A 13-time All-Star, Shaquille O’Neal has averaged 14 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists and one block in four games this season. He has posted 24,820 career points in 14 seasons for 14th place in NBA history.

Wade has led the Heat in scoring in the last 29 of 31 games he has played in.

The Heat hold a record of 2-8 in games played without Wade and Shaq since they began playing together in the 2004-05 season.

It’s been a rough January for the Heat with injuries and personnel moves. Earlier this month, the team announced head coach Pat Riley was taking a medical leave of absence, and Ron Rothstein has been the acting head coach.

Despite the problems, the team has gone 6-5 this month. The Heat entered Wednesday’s play at 19-22 on the season, in third place in the Southeast Division, five games behind first-place Washington.