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Rockets-Heat: 300k 
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"Dwyane was back to his normal form in the fourth quarter, actually the second half today. Ball in his hands, making plays," Stan Van Gundy said. "That was the best win we've had in a long time. Offensively, we did a very good job against one of the best defensive teams in the league."
Wade scored 11 points in the third quarter to help Miami establish a critical 73-70 lead entering the fourth. The Heat improved to 26-1, including 15-0 at home, when leading after three periods.
Miami led by two points at the break and never trailed in the second half. Houston got as close as 71-70 on a 17-foot jumper by Tracy McGrady with 1:38 left in the third quarter.
Eddie Jones scored five straight points to begin the final 12 minutes as Miami started to pull away. The Heat increased their lead to 92-80 on a jumper by Michael Doleac with 4:54 remaining, capping a 14-8 run.
In the final minute, Jones stole an inbounds pass and fed Wade, who put an exclamation point on the victory with a breakaway dunk with 19 seconds remaining.
Shaquille O'Neal, who had led the Heat in scoring in 10 of the previous 14 games, had 15 points and five rebounds in his battle with fellow star center Yao Ming. Yao, who holds a 53,838-vote lead over O'Neal in the overall fan balloting for next month's NBA All-Star Game, had a quiet 22 points and nine rebounds.
"I don't look at this as Yao vs. Shaquille, that is something for the media," Jeff Van Gundy said. "Nobody is as good as Shaq is at center -- that is just how it is. I don't try and thrust Yao into that comparison. It is unfair to O'Neal and it is unfair to Yao."
Yao committed two early fouls and was held scoreless in the first quarter. He scored 16 points after intermission, but half of those came in the final three minutes with the Heat already in control. Yao also capitalized on O'Neal's being on the bench for all but five minutes of the fourth quarter.
"(O'Neal) presents a big problem," Yao said. "Not only for us, but for all the NBA teams."
O'Neal was guilty of two first-quarter fouls and five in all, limiting him to just 27 minutes. His absence afforded Wade the chance to take charge, and he responded by eclipsing the 20-point plateau for the first time in five games.
"At one point Shaq was in foul trouble and I knew Coach was going to come to me," said Wade, who also recorded eight rebounds and six assists. "I decided to drive hard and try to make plays for my teammates. ... I understand that on some nights, like tonight when Shaq is not on the floor, it's time for me to make plays happen."
With O'Neal on the bench, Wade came down with an offensive rebound amid three Rockets and converted the ensuing layup to give Miami an 88-78 lead with 6:15 remaining. Less than a minute later, he found a wide-open Damon Jones, who buried a jumper from just inside the arc to restore Miami's 10-point lead at 90-80.
"I'm trying to enter the two-point shooting contest for All-Star weekend," Damon Jones said with a grin. "I'm just trying to mix it up a little. Teams are doing a great job of running me off the 3-point shot. I just want to help my team out. I don't want to be labeled as a 3-point shooter."
Damon Jones, who made 2-of-6 3-pointers, and Udonis Haslem scored 16 points apiece as all five starters scored in double figures for the Heat, who won their third straight game and improved to 20 games over .500 (33-13).
McGrady scored 28 points, including a 3-pointer with 32 seconds left that brought Houston to within 100-95, but Wade converted two free throws nine seconds later to re-establish a seven-point advantage.
Bob Sura scored 15 of Houston's first 29 points and finished with 21 before leaving with 56 seconds left with an apparent left hand injury while trying to defend O'Neal.
"I wanted to come out aggressively," said Sura, who was taken for X-rays. "I got some easy baskets early to get me going. I wasn't able to come out in the second half and be as effective."
Sura shot just 2-of-8, including 0-of-4 from the arc, in the second half as Houston lost for the 14th time in its last 18 meetings with Miami. It was Jeff Van Gundy's second straight loss to his brother.
"It's settled in a little bit," Stan Van Gundy said of the sibling rivalry. "It's not as much fun. ... I'd rather not have to coach against him, but you have to do it. I enjoy the other games more."