NBA

Heat 105, Magic 93

MIAMI (AP)

Dwyane Wade successfully lobbied to play in Miami's
regular-season finale, saying he wanted to get a little more work
in before the playoffs begin this weekend.

He looked more than ready for another postseason run.

Wade scored 21 points and handed out 10 assists, Mike Miller
added 21 points and the Miami Heat wrapped up the regular season
with a 105-93 win over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night.

Orlando finished with the NBA's worst record, 20-62.

Miami (66-16) became the 14th team in NBA history to finish with
a winning percentage over .800. The Heat have home-court advantage
throughout the NBA playoffs and will open their quest for a second
straight championship on Sunday against the Milwaukee Bucks in Game
1 of an Eastern Conference first-round series.

''Awesome,'' Wade said. ''It's great. It's a testament to the
team being committed and being very consistent all year.''

The Heat were without LeBron James, who was away from the team
for the day while tending to a personal matter and almost certainly
would not have played even if he was in the arena anyway. Chris
Bosh was in the first starting lineup the Heat submitted Wednesday,
before the team changed course about 45 minutes before game time
and decided to give him the night off as well.

''We still have time to get into this mentally,'' Heat coach
Erik Spoelstra said.

The Heat finished 37-4 at home, and not long after putting
together a 27-game winning streak - the second-longest run in NBA
history - the defending champs head into the postseason having won
a league-best eight in a row.

''Now we start the real thing,'' Wade said.

Nik Vucevic had 20 points and 13 rebounds for Orlando. Only once
have the Magic won fewer games in a season - their inaugural year,
going 18-64 in 1989-90.

''This was a learning experience for most of us,'' Vucevic said.
''We're young guys. It wasn't easy with a lot of losses. It wasn't
always fun but we can take a lot from the season.''

The Heat surely won't mind not seeing Vucevic again until next
fall. In three games against Miami this season, Vucevic - who
arrived in Orlando as part of the Dwight Howard trade last summer -
finished with 65 points and 63 rebounds, getting double-doubles in
every outing.

''It's not a fluke,'' Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said. ''He's
done it on a consistent basis for us. And he's improved ... he's
gotten better along the way.''

''I'm thankful for being here, for the organization, the
coaches, the fans,'' Harris said. ''I just look forward to grow
from it and come back next year even more ready. ... We're just
building on everything to be a better team.''

Wade has been sidelined for much of the past couple weeks while
recovering from bone bruises around his right kneecap. He announced
about an hour before the game that he would play, citing a need to
improve his conditioning before Game 1 of the postseason.

Without James and Bosh in the lineup, he was the clear go-to
guy, and responded with 17 first-half points - his most since late
February.

Orlando, which has known for some time that its season was
ending with the final whistle of this game, hardly seemed like a
team eager to start its summer vacations. The Magic shot 57 percent
in the first half, outplayed Miami for some stretches and went into
intermission down just 55-47.

''I've asked a lot of these guys,'' Vaughn said.

The Magic cut the lead to one point on a pair of occasions in
the third, before the Heat closed the quarter on a 16-7 run. And
that burst came after Wade checked out for the last time in his
10th regular season.

Wade's final shot was a reverse layup, and he appeared to be
limping slightly afterward - though he insisted postgame that he
was fine, just working his way through the last of the bruising.
The Heat took no more chances, getting Wade out of the game at the
next stoppage and having trainer Jay Sabol strap icepacks to each
of his knees.

And when the last horn went off, the playoffs - and a chance for
another title - had finally arrived in Miami.

''Regular-season games are there for a reason, and that's to
improve and get better and we think we accomplished that,''
Spoelstra said. ''It will be different. We'll never be the
underdog. And that's the way it should be. Our guys accept that
responsibility and they know we'll have to prove it every single
night.''

A year ago, the big question entering the playoffs was whether
Miami was good enough to win it all. This season, it seems like the
rest of the league is waiting to see who might give the Heat a
challenge.

''I'll be tuned in,'' Vaughn said. ''I'll watch.''

NOTES: Juwan Howard's start total ranks him 14th among active
players (a list that excludes Rasheed Wallace, the veteran who
retired earlier Wednesday). ... Allen and James are now part of a
very small group - those who have been part of 66-win seasons with
two different franchises, with others in that club including Wilt
Chamberlain, Robert Parish, Devean George, Ron Harper and John
Salley. ... The Magic finished 46 games behind Miami in the
Southeast Division standings.

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