Heat wins 99-95 to sweep series

Published 12:00 am Saturday, May 14, 2005

WASHINGTON (AP) - The preliminary stuff is over in the Miami Heat's playoff run.

Eddie Jones made a 3-pointer from the right wing with 14.9 seconds remaining Saturday night, thwarting a late Washington Wizards rally in the Heat's 99-95 victory that wrapped up the Eastern Conference semifinal series in four games.

Miami swept two teams it also swept in the regular season, completing the job with Dwyane Wade solidifying his case as a phenomenon-on-the-rise, with Jones hitting the winning shot, and with Shaquille O'Neal sitting on the bench in a dapper dark gray suit.

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Jones' basket gave Miami a 97-95 lead and ended a streak of 16 straight misses for the Heat, who blew an 11-point lead over the final six minutes.

Washington's Larry Hughes attempted to tie the game with a drive to the basket, but Alonzo Mourning blocked the shot with 8.3 seconds remaining. Wade then made two free throws for the final points.

Wade scored 22 of his career playoff-high 42 points in a dazzling third quarter in which he went 7-for-7 from the field and 8-for-8 from the free-throw line.

He broke franchise records for points in a playoff quarter and a playoff game and scored 31, 31 and 42 in the last three games of the series.

The Wizards simply could not stop Wade, whether he was working himself open for a jumper or grabbing an offensive rebound and going back up for a dunk. He finished 13-for-22 from the field and 16-for-17 from the line.

O'Neal missed his second straight game with a deep thigh bruise that has hobbled him for several weeks. The sweep will give him a minimum of eight days to recover, with the conference finals against Detroit or Indiana not scheduled to start until May 23, at the earliest.

A healthy O'Neal wasn't necessary against New Jersey in the first round or Washington in the second. The Heat went 15-0 against the two teams and are the first team in NBA history to sweep the same two teams in the playoffs that it swept during the regular season. Miami has also won 12 straight against the Washington over two seasons.