JS
04-12-2006, 04:38 AM
http://detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060412/SPORTS0102/604120391/1127
Miami's O'Neal gets triple-double
Heat center reaches feat for the second time in career, making up for loss of ailing Wade.
MIAMI -- Shaquille O'Neal had his second career triple-double, Antoine Walker scored a season-high 32 points and the Miami Heat overcame Dwyane Wade's absence to defeat the Toronto Raptors, 106-97, Tuesday night.
O'Neal finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in just 28 minutes because of foul trouble. And Walker, who was shooting just 30 percent and averaging eight points in April, connected on 13 of 26 shots, and added eight rebounds and five assists.
"If Antoine can play like that, we can win the whole thing," O'Neal said.
The Raptors, who have lost nine straight, cut their deficit to three points late in the third quarter before the Heat pulled away. Walker's three-pointer with 5:16 remaining gave the Heat a 101-86 lead.
While Toronto remained horrid, former Piston Mike James stayed torrid for the Raptors. He scored 32, his fourth straight game of 30 points or more, and Morris Peterson (Michigan State) added 23 for Toronto -- which stayed close by hitting 13 three-pointers.
Wade, who was averaging 27.5 points a game, stayed home because of a flu-like virus. The Heat trimmed their magic number for clinching the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs to three over the Nets.
O'Neal's only other triple-double was Nov. 20, 1993, when he had 24 points, 28 rebounds and 15 blocked shots for the Magic in a victory over the Nets.
He got this one in a different fashion, flipping passes out of the post for much of the night. The clincher came with 7:07 left, when he found Shandon Anderson alone under the basket for his 10th assist.
In a related note hell froze over...
Miami's O'Neal gets triple-double
Heat center reaches feat for the second time in career, making up for loss of ailing Wade.
MIAMI -- Shaquille O'Neal had his second career triple-double, Antoine Walker scored a season-high 32 points and the Miami Heat overcame Dwyane Wade's absence to defeat the Toronto Raptors, 106-97, Tuesday night.
O'Neal finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in just 28 minutes because of foul trouble. And Walker, who was shooting just 30 percent and averaging eight points in April, connected on 13 of 26 shots, and added eight rebounds and five assists.
"If Antoine can play like that, we can win the whole thing," O'Neal said.
The Raptors, who have lost nine straight, cut their deficit to three points late in the third quarter before the Heat pulled away. Walker's three-pointer with 5:16 remaining gave the Heat a 101-86 lead.
While Toronto remained horrid, former Piston Mike James stayed torrid for the Raptors. He scored 32, his fourth straight game of 30 points or more, and Morris Peterson (Michigan State) added 23 for Toronto -- which stayed close by hitting 13 three-pointers.
Wade, who was averaging 27.5 points a game, stayed home because of a flu-like virus. The Heat trimmed their magic number for clinching the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs to three over the Nets.
O'Neal's only other triple-double was Nov. 20, 1993, when he had 24 points, 28 rebounds and 15 blocked shots for the Magic in a victory over the Nets.
He got this one in a different fashion, flipping passes out of the post for much of the night. The clincher came with 7:07 left, when he found Shandon Anderson alone under the basket for his 10th assist.
In a related note hell froze over...