Heat Edge Lakers In Overtime

The Miami Heat held off the defending NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers 114-111 in overtime on Thursday night at American Airlines Arena. It was a measure of revenge for the Heat against the Lakers following a loss earlier this season at the Staples Center that was capped by a three-point winning shot by Kobe Bryant over Dwyane Wade with no time remaining. The game was generally close throughtout the game with a league-high 31 lead changes, Miami's biggest lead was nine points. Wade had 27 points and 14 assists while Quentin Richardson added a season-high 25 points, including seven three-pointers, and Carlos Arroyo got a season-high 17 points for the Heat. Miami held a 92-84 lead with under four minutes remaining in regulation until the Lakers went on a 13-4 run to take the lead 97-96 with 0:42 left. Following a Richardson three-pointer at 11.1, Bryant hit a 13-foot fadeaway over Wade to tie the game with three seconds left to send it into overtime. Udonis Haslem nailed a 12-foot baseline jumper with 37.3 seconds to hold onto the victory. Kobe Bryant had a game-high 39 points as the Lakers lost for the fifth time in the last six games at Miami since the Shaquille O'Neal-Lamar Odom trade in 2004.