USA - Shaq is back as Miami hot up

NEW YORK (NBA) - Team USA captain Dwyane Wade and Miami Heat team-mate Shaquille O'Neal are starting to look like last season's deadly duo.

Wade collected 27 points, 12 assists and five rebounds, and giant center O'Neal looked strong, scoring 22 points as the Miami Heat routed the Charlotte Bobcats, 113-93, for their fourth straight win.

Struggling with O'Neal missing 39 of the team's first 48 games following knee surgery, the Heat (23-25) now have won four straight and nine out of their last 12 contests with their legendary center rounding into form.

Two nights ago, O'Neal netted 20 points in Miami's rout of Milwaukee and continued his stellar play on Monday.

Looking energised from the start, he was 10 of 14 from the field in 21 minutes, taking the ball to the basket with force.

"It's coming together at the right time," O'Neal said.

"There's still a chance for us to slide up there. The good thing about this conference is that teams haven't been that dominant. We have a chance to get one of those (top) four spots (in the conference), and I know we will."

Nets cut down again

Andre Iguodala made the most of his a big three-pointer in overtime as the Philadelphia 76ers posted a 100-98 victory over the New Jersey Nets.

Nursing a one-point lead in overtime, Iguodala took a cross-court pass from Andre Miller and buried the shot from the arc to give Philadelphia a 97-93 lead with 1:06 to play and Sixers were able to hold on.

Iguodala scored 23 points and added 15 assists in the victory.

Turkey’s Okur continues to shine

Turkish national team player Mehmet Okur scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter and Deron Williams collected 18 points and 13 assists as the Utah Jazz held off the Chicago Bulls, 100-95, for their third straight win.

Derek Fisher scored 19 points for the Jazz, who played their fourth game without injured Carlos Boozer.

The forward will be out at least four weeks with a leg injury suffered just four minutes into a loss to the New Orleans Hornets on January 27.

"We're just battling adversity. Booz goes out, but we've got to keep playing our season," Williams said. "We need him back as soon as possible, but we're going to find some things out about ourselves right now."

Nene continues recovery but Nuggets fall

Brazilian international Nene had his biggest output since undergoing off-season knee surgery with 27 points but his Denver Nuggets suffered a 113-108 home defeat to the Phoenix Suns.

Nene, prevented from playing at the FIBA World Championship last summer because of his operation, also had seven rebounds.

Phoenix did not have two-time reigning NBA MVP Steve Nash but for 16 and a half minutes after the Canadian aggravated a shoulder injury.

Kings reign

Ron Artest scored 21 points and Mike Bibby added 19 as the Kings raced out to an early lead and held off a Hornets' third-quarter rally en route to a 105-99 victory.

Tracy McGrady scored 16 of his 32 points in the third quarter as the Houston Rockets cruised to a 105-77 victory over the struggling Timberwolves.

Caron Butler poured in a career-high 38 points and the Washington Wizards continued the Seattle SuperSonics' slump on the road with a 118-108 victory.

Seattle set a franchise-record with their 15th consecutive road loss.

Jackson sets pace against former team

Stephen Jackson scored a season-high 36 points and combined with Al Harrington for 21 in the first quarter as the Golden State Warriors took a 16-point lead and coasted to a 113-98 victory over Indiana.

Kobe Bryant scored 11 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter and Lamar Odom added 15 and 18 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers rode their star to a 90-83 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

Two days after a scoring duel with Washington's Gilbert Arenas, Bryant went head-to-head with Johnson, who is ninth in the league at 25.7 points per game. Johnson scored 27 points

FIBA