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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
MIAMI (AP) -- Nothing could stop Alonzo Mourning on Wednesday
night, certainly not a broken nose.
|  | | Alonzo Mourning made his first 13 shots. |
Mourning, whose nose was broken Monday night, hit his first 13
shots and missed only one for the game, scoring 43 points as Miami
beat the New Jersey Nets 99-85.
Mourning was 13-of-13 before missing a 15-foot turnaround jumper with 56.8 seconds remaining. He finished five off Wilt Chamberlain's NBA record of 18-of-18 against Baltimore in 1967. Mourning's string of baskets ranks fifth in NBA history.
"Alonzo was absolutely awesome tonight," Heat coach Pat Riley
said. "He was committed and focused from the start."
Mourning, injured when he was struck by Michael Curry's elbow in
a loss at Detroit, also made 17-of-24 free throws and had 16
rebounds and five blocks in 33 minutes.
"I wasn't paying attention to it at all," Mourning said of the
chance for perfection. "My intentions were to try to get to the
basket and fortunately my teammates gave me the ball in the right
spots."
The All-Star center, who has had three facial injuries the past
three seasons, had his nose reset Tuesday. He protected it with a
bandage instead of a mask.
"That's the best performance I've seen in a long time," the
Nets' Kendall Gill said. "I thought Shaq was awesome last night but Zo did Shaq one better tonight."
Shaquille O'Neal had 35 points on 15-of-26 shooting and 13
rebounds in the Los Angeles Lakers' 97-89 victory over New Jersey
on Tuesday night.
The Heat, coming off a 1-3 road trip, won their seventh straight
home game. Miami earned its first victory over the Nets in three
games this season.
Kerry Kittles scored 24 points, Stephon Marbury had 21 and Keith
Van Horn added 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Nets.
"He came into the game with the mindset to dominate," Van Horn
said. "We've beaten them twice. He went into the game as if he
would be the deciding factor and he established that right from the
beginning."
Miami trailed 33-31 when its reserves, led by Otis Thorpe,
Clarence Weatherspoon and Anthony Carter, sparked a 14-4 run.
Weatherspoon made his first five shots, finishing with 14 points on
7-of-9 shooting.
The Heat maintained at least an eight-point lead for the rest of
the game.
"I've never broken a nose before, but I need to get one if I
can get me 43, 16 and five," joked Heat forward P.J. Brown.
Following Marbury's putback, the Nets trailed 92-83 with 4:43
remaining. Mourning, who sat out for 4:40 of the fourth quarter,
responded with a 17-foot turnaround jumper.
Mourning's dunk and ensuing free throw made it 99-85 with 1:25
left. "He's one of the best players ever right now in the
league," said Evan Eschmeyer, who had five fouls in eight minutes
trying to contain Mourning. "He was on fire and I played horrible.
He kicked my butt from the start to finish."
Mourning scored 24 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the field in
the first half to help Miami take a 59-51 lead.
Game notes
Mourning and Weatherspoon were a combined 10-of-10 for 32
points in the first half. ... Mourning tied a team record by making
12 foul shots in the first half. He set career highs for free
throws made and attempted. The 12 free throws tied a Heat record in
the first half.... Miami is 8-0 on Wednesdays. ... Heat coach Pat
Riley had been 8-0 against the Nets before losing the first two to
New Jersey this season. ... Over the last two games, Mourning hit
19 consecutive shots, including the final six against Detroit
Monday.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
New Jersey Clubhouse
Miami Clubhouse
RECAPS
Philadelphia 94
LA Clippers 78
LA Lakers 116
Cleveland 98
Indiana 118
Detroit 111
Miami 99
New Jersey 85
Toronto 99
New York 88
Golden State 91
Milwaukee 86
Atlanta 100
Sacramento 94
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