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January 29, 2012

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Wade returns to fire Heat to Knicks win

ALL-STAR guard Dwyane Wade returned from a six-game injury absence with 28 points to lead the Miami Heat to a 99-89 win over the New York Knicks in an up-tempo encounter on Friday.

Wade had been sidelined with an ankle injury but already looked back to his best as he and LeBron James (31 points) racked up 10 dunks and 59 points between them to condemn the Knicks to their eighth loss in nine games.

At times, the Wade-James combination looked the best it has done this season, and left Miami coach Erik Spoelstra purring. "They did a very good job of playing off each other, getting out in the open court, playing off each other on cuts in the half court and one guy being aggressive and the other guy playing off that," said Spoelstra. "Then there at the end LeBron really has taken another step forward in terms of his aggressiveness."

New York was without its leading forward Carmelo Anthony, who sat out the game with a wrist and ankle injuries and they relied heavily on three point shots - attempting 43 of them, the most in any NBA game this season, making 18.

Bill Walker top scored for the Knicks with 21 points - ll of them from beyond the arc - for New York, who have just one win this season over a team with a .500 record.

While the Knicks struggle, Miami, which has won five of its last six games at its American Airlines Arena, is starting to click and were clearly delighted to have Wade back. Spoelstra revealed that the Heat had decided to give Wade an extended break in order to get his physical condition back to its best.

Wade shot 11 of 19 on field goals and was on court for 32.44 minutes looking sharp from the outset with an early dunk that brought a huge roar from the crowd. "I just tried to be aggressive, after being out for a while, one of the best ways to get your rhythm is to attack the basket," said Wade.

Also, the streaking Denver Nuggets capitalized on a slow start by the visiting Toronto Raptors to complete a wire-to-wire 96-81 win.

In Chicago, Derrick Rose scored a season-high 34 points to lead the Bulls to a 107-100 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Elsewhere, it was: Mavericks 116, Jazz 101; Thunder 120, Warriors 109; Timberwolves 87, Spurs 79; Celtics 94, Pacers 87; Hawks 107, Pistons 101, OT; Trail Blazers 109, Suns 71; 76ers 89, Bobcats 72; Hornets 93, Magic 67; Nets 99, Cavaliers 96; and Rockets 103, Wizards 76.

 

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