Heat win 8th straight, nipping Hawks

MIAMI - Derek Anderson wasted no time in making a big contribution to Miami Heat. Anderson's hustle set up Alonzo Mourning's dunk with 1.8 seconds remaining that gave Miami its first lead of the game, and the Heat beat the Atlanta Hawks 95-93 on Saturday night for their season-high eighth straight victory. "I had an opportunity to make a play that I've been making for nine years," said Anderson, who made his Heat debut after not dressing for three games following a Feb. 23 trade with Houston. "I didn't know I was going to play. You have to be ready when called upon." Shaquille O'Neal had 21 points and eight rebounds before fouling out with 3:45 left for Miami, which overcame a 17-point deficit despite playing without Dwyane Wade. Wade was sidelined with a sprained wrist and is listed as day to day. Joe Johnson scored 28 points for the Hawks, who have lost 10 straight games to Miami. Josh Smith added 21 points and eight rebounds. "We can play with the best — we beat Detroit, San Antonio," Smith said. "We just couldn't come up with the win tonight." After Salim Stoudamire missed a jumper with 20 seconds left, the Heat moved the ball down court and worked the ball until Udonis Haslem missed a foul-line jumper. The near airball appeared to be going out of bounds underneath the Heat basket, but Anderson hustled and shuffled the ball to Mourning, who then delivered the game-winning slam. Anderson scored 12 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter. He missed six of his first seven shots, then hit his final three. "He kept telling me he was ready but I am a stubborn old coach," Miami's Pat Riley said. "He has worked very hard. Obviously with Dwyane out, we went to Derek." Stoudamire, with Jason Williams defending closely, missed a jumper as time expired. The Hawks took a 73-62 lead into the fourth quarter. Johnson scored 14 points in the third. O'Neal scored six points during an 11-1 run that pulled Miami within 86-84 with 4:27 left. Anderson's 3-pointer finished the run. "We controlled the game for 3 1/2 quarters and then we didn't take care of the basketball," Johnson said. "They made a run. We just didn't take care of the basketball. We had a lot of unforced errors." Johnson had 12 points and Al Harrington 11 to help Atlanta open a 48-33 halftime lead. The Hawks held Miami to 31-percent shooting, including 1-of-10 from 3-point range, and had a 21-18 rebounding advantage. The three on-court officials huddled around the video replay screen at the scorer's table for several minutes before ruling Johnson's 60-foot heave that banked in failed to beat the halftime buzzer. Harrington had nine points to help Atlanta build a 27-15 lead after one quarter. Miami was 4-of-16 and missed all five 3-point tries.