O'Neal scored 26 points and Haslem added a career-high 22 as the Heat posted a 98-91 victory over the reeling Golden State Warriors.
|
Heat-Warriors: 300k 
|
"Tonight, I understand they were without their leading scorer (Jason Richardson), but so were we," Heat coach Stan Van Gundy said. "That was the best defense we've played in a long time. Shaq took control of the game, which he's been doing lately, and Udonis, even though he had trouble guarding Troy Murphy, matched him scoring-wise, and I think that was key."
O'Neal provided an early boost with 10 first-quarter points and Haslem added 10 in the third period, when the Heat opened a 75-65 lead. The pair combined to grab 22 rebounds.
"I never get tired, I just get beat up," O'Neal said. "This is a game we needed, we'd already lost two in a row. We didn't want to make it three in a row, so we came out extra hard, extra focused today."
Haslem scored six points and O'Neal four during a 10-2 run midway through the quarter, capped by Haslem's layup for a 61-51 lead.
"He played good," O'Neal said of Haslem. "They left him open and teams are taking a chance on leaving him open. He's been working on his shot and he played well tonight."
Haslem is averaging 15.0 points and 9.0 rebounds over his last four games.
"I try to do everything, whatever the situation calls for," Haslem said. "I've been fortunate enough to excel at whatever the coach wants me to do, that's what my job is. With Dwyane out, more of the focus was on (O'Neal) and when the focus is on the big fella, that puts me in a position to make shots."
Damon Jones filled in nicely for Wade with 10 assists against just two turnovers, leading a methodical effort by Miami. The Heat shot 56 percent (38-of-68) from the field and had 30 assists with only 15 giveaways.
"We got a lot of good performances from a lot of people in a game we needed to have, coming off of two losses to very good teams," Van Gundy said.
Murphy scored 22 points and pulled down 17 boards, but the Warriors continued their slump without Richardson. Since he was sidelined with a sprained left ankle in late December, Golden State has lost a season-high seven straight games.
"We played tough tonight," said Warriors center Cliff Robinson, who was ejected midway through the fourth quarter. "We've played a lot of games tough, but we have to maintain intensity for 48 minutes. We were trying to give us the opportunity to win, but we were handcuffed by the fact that we were playing someone so tough. (Shaq) is going to kill us every night."
"It's not a very complex deal," Golden State coach Mike Montgomery said. "They shoot 56 percent, we shoot 37 percent. Four starters are (a combined) 8-for-41. That makes it pretty tough."