Miami 104, Utah 102
Game 53: Tuesday at the Delta Center
... 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
Heat 27 26 24 27 - 104
Jazz 23 27 17 35 - 102
1st quarter: The Jazz use six fouls in the first four minutes trying to guard Alonzo Mourning, who has eight points in the quarter. Voshon Lenard does the damage from the outside, hitting three 3-pointers and scoring 11 points. Karl Malone has 11 for the Jazz.
2nd quarter: The Heat goes up by as many as 11, but Shandon Anderson leads a Jazz comeback, scoring 10. John Stockton ends an 0-for-9 stretch from the field by nailing a pair of 3-pointers, including one at the halftime buzzer.
3rd quarter: The Jazz start fast and take a four-point lead, 60-56, on a Greg Foster bucket. The Heat score 18 of the next 20 to go up by 10 with 2:13 remaining. Malone goes 1 for 7 from the field.
4th quarter: The Heat increases its advantage to as many as 15 before the Jazz rally. Utah pulls to within a point with 16 seconds left. Utah blows two chances in the final 10 seconds to tie the game with a bucket or win with a 3-pointer.
Who's hot: Miami's Lenard, who made 5-of-7 3-point bombs and finished with 20 points. As a team the Heat was 12 for 27 from beyond the arc for 44.4 percent.
Key to the game: A 51/2-minute stretch in the third quarter. The Heat outscored Utah 18-2 with former Jazz draft pick Eric Murdock netting the final five.
Records: Jazz 37-16; Heat 38-18
Quotable: "We sometimes come unglued when there's a lot of pressure, but we held on and stayed the course." Heat coach Pat Riley.
Notable: The Jazz signed William Cunningham to a second 10-day contract on Wednesday. The 6-11 center was originally picked up when Greg Ostertag went on the injured list with a stress fracture to his left leg. Cunningham is averaging 1.5 points and 1.8 rebounds per game . . . The Heat were the final Eastern Conference team to make its one appearance of the season in the Delta Center. The Jazz finished the year 13-2 at home against teams from the East after going unbeaten last year. Miami and Washington were the two teams to earn road breakthroughs in Salt Lake. Utah has eight road games remaining against Eastern Conference foes . . . Riley is 1-5 against Utah as coach of the Heat. He's 36-21 as a coach against the Jazz during his career, with 32 of those wins coming when he was with the Lakers.
Next Up: Phoenix vs. Jazz, Thursday, 7 p.m. at the Delta Center.