Wade lifts Heat past Sonics

Wade added 13 assists and Jason Kapono netted 19 points for the Heat, who have won two in a row since dropping five straight. Former Sonics standout Gary Payton scored 14 in victory, while Udonis Haslem posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Ray Allen finished with a team-best 29 points and Chris Wilcox ended with 28 points and 13 boards for Seattle, which has dropped six in a row.

Seattle jumped out to a 55-48 halftime lead, but Miami quickly closed the gap in the third quarter and knotted it at 67-67 on a Kapono three-pointer with 6:59 left in the stanza.

The third finished with the teams deadlocked at 79-79, and the game went down to the wire in the final 12 minutes.

Wade scored 10 straight points for his team in the latter stages, including a pair of free throws with 1:36 left that gave the Heat a 99-95 advantage.

Wilcox countered with a hook shot on the ensuing possession to cut the deficit to two, but Mourning came up with a big offensive rebound on the other end, was fouled, and then drained two from the stripe to make it 101-97 with about a minute remaining.

Seattle was unable to convert on its next two trips, and a Payton lay-in with 13 ticks left put the game out of reach.

Game Notes

Seattle head coach Bob Hill missed Wednesday night’s game with a respiratory infection. Assistant coach Gordon Chiesa took the reins in Hill’s absence... Miami is now 2-1 on its current six-game road swing. The Heat are 7-10 on the road this season. They will also visit Golden State, Utah and the Lakers on the current road trip...This was the first installment of a seven-game homestand for Seattle...The Heat have won four in a row in this series.