No, none of the Heat's players or coaches lost a bet on Duke in the NCAA championship game last night. At least none that we know of. 

It just appeared that way Tuesday afternoon when doors opened to the Heat's practice at AmericanAirlines Arena.

No sooner than Duke caps its run to an NCAA title on Monday night than does Shavlik Randolph show up out of nowhere at the Heat's practice Tuesday morning.

Randolph once was the Dukiest of Duke players. In a good way, of course. He was supposed to be next in the Blue Devils pipeline of power players that started back with Gminski, continued through Ferry and Laettner and delivered Boozer and Brand before things dried up. Oh, almost forgot. Cherokee Parks was somewhere in there, too.

Randolph's Duke career was sidetracked by injuries. But he's trying to scratch out an NBA full-time job with heart, hustle and a relentless work ethic. Those things are held in high value by the Heat. It's what kept Udonis here so long. It's what got Joel Anthony another contract. So, after Randolph was released earlier this season, he's back to finish the season with the Heat.

For him, the timing couldn't have been better. There may be some spot-duty minutes in the post should the Heat have to limit Jermaine O'Neal's minutes upon his return from a right knee injury. The Randolph signing may also have been a sign that coach Erik Spoelstra intends to rest Haslem at the first opportunity at some point over the final five games of the regular season in preparation for the playoffs.

"Basically, coach told me my role didn't change from when I was on the team earlier," Randolph said Tuesday. "Be an energy guy, defensive rebounder and opportunistic scorer. I'm not expecting to come in here and play big minutes or anything. If they call me, I'm going to be ready. That's for sure."

It was almost as if the Heat playfully tried to sneak this signing in on some of us in the media. Randolph was on the court in full gear working out before the team officially issued the release that he was signed. But it didn't necessarily require an intrepid reporter to take notice.

On Monday, there were 14 brothers on the roster and cool cat Carlos Arroyo. On Tuesday, there were 13 brothers, smooth dude Arroyo and Shav, who is 6-10 and all elbows, arms and solid fundamentals. I've found Randolph to be an all-around good guy with a great attitude and strong conviction in his faith.

He's back to finish what he started with the Heat. At best, he could give Miami tough minutes down the stretch, draw a few charges and take a few fouls so the veterans can get some rest and recovery before the playoffs. At worst, Shav could be a practice sparring partner for Jamaal Magloire.

In either case, Randolph was beaming at the opportunity Tuesday. Or maybe that was just the afterglow of his alma mater winning a title. Shav walked in the door with a bit of bragging rights.

"I've heard a few of the Duke jokes," Randolph said. "You know, Duke wins a championship and the first thing they do is bring in a Duke guy. It's great. As a Duke alum, it's almost like part of us won it, too."

(For live news, notes and updates on the Heat, follow me on Twitter @ twitter.com/wallacesports. To post a question or join our live Heat chat each Thursday from 1-2 p.m., click here.)

INDIANAPOLIS - There was a time when it seemed the Pacers just had too much for the Heat on Friday  night at Conseco Fieldhouse.

And then, the league issued its release of the conference players of the month. Dwyane Wade got the memo. And then, he got his game going at an MVP level and showed why he deserved the honor for March.

Wade scored 29 of his game-high 43 points after halftime to lead the Heat to a pivotal 105-96 victory over the Pacers to extend its winning streak to a season-best seven games. The fun apparently didn't end in March for the Heat (42-34), which is one game short of matching last season's win total with six games remaining.

With the combination of Miami's victory and Milwaukee's loss Friday to Charlotte, the Heat overtook the Bucks for fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings. It was also a breakthrough victory for Miami, which claimed its first regular-season sweep of the Pacers in franchise history.

The Heat now looks to complete its second consecutive 3-0 trip when it travels to Minnesota on Saturday.

D. WADE'S DOINGS: After scoring just 10 points in Wednesday's victory at Detroit, Wade was on a mission to attack and keep the winning ways going for the Heat. He took over this game in the second half. It started with an 18-point third quarter. Wade found his rhythm with a pair of jumpers and a pair of free throws. Then, he went to his highlight material. Wade could have been charged for assault after that driving, twisting dunk in traffic over Troy Murphy in the third quarter. And that was just the appetizer when it came to sweet moves. Moments later, Wade split a double-team at the top of the key by shifting the ball around his back and dribbling through his legs from back to front. He capped the move with a layup off the glass. Afterward, Wade said he was just glad to give fans in town for the Final Four a good advance screening of sorts. He closed the game going 14 of 22 from the field and 13 of 17 from the line. He had nine rebounds, six assists, three steals and three blocks. That all-around play made up for the five turnovers.

TURNING POINT: Again, this goes back to Wade. After passing up several open looks from three-point  range, Wade stepped into two huge treys in the overtime period after Indiana drew to within 95-93. Wade's  two daggers made it 101-93, and it was a wrap. Miami outscored Indiana 16-7 in the extra period.

WINNING/LOSING EDGE: The Heat held the Pacers to 37.8 percent shooting from the field. Indiana also missed six of its eight shots in overtime. When the Heat is that stingy around the basket, it usually is unbeatable. Miami is 23-1 this season when holding opponents below 40 percent.

HEAD-SCRATCHER: Now that the Heat has moved into fifth place in the East, you don't have to think long and hard about which team Miami might match up better against in the playoffs. I'm sure the Heat, and most Heat fans, would like to see a rematch with Atlanta in the first round. But right now, it looks like the Hawks are rolling again and could end up holding onto the third seed in the East. That means, as of now, the Heat would end up in a 4-5 matchup with Boston in the first round. Miami is 3-1 against Atlanta this season and 0-3 against the Celtics. I've gone on record saying I'd like to see Miami-Boston just for the intensity and energy that serious would provide. Wade could be the man to end Boston's Big 3 run. So what do you do if you're the Heat in this spot? You keep winning and let the chips fall where they may. But if slipping back to sixth means a shot at Atlanta and a potential second-round path through Orlando instead of Cleveland, you might just consider resting Wade a game or two down the stretch. But the way this is shaping up, Charlotte will be on Miami's heels, meaning a fall from fifth to seventh is quite possible.

KEY CONTRIBUTION: It was one of those nights when there was Wade, and several notches down there was everyone else. Michael Beasley had a bad start before he picked it up a bit in the second quarter. But he clearly was laboring throughout the game with what turned out to be full-body cramps. He had 12 points, 7 boards and 2 blocks. Mario Chalmers was the point guard of choice to close out the game. He delivered 11 points, including two three-pointers, along with four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Udonis was right at another double-double with nine points and 11 boards, and Dorell Wright had 11 points and seven rebounds. Again, no one stood out. But everybody did a little bit of something. Not much else was needed on a night when D-Wade was able to do just about everything.

NEXT UP: Heat at Minnesota Timberwolves, 8 p.m. Saturday - Target Center

(For live news, notes and updates on the Heat, follow me on Twitter @ twitter.com/wallacesports. To post a question or join our live Heat chat each Thursday from 1-2 p.m., click here.)

Barring a major injury that removes Dwyane Wade or Jermaine O'Neal from the equation for the duration, Heat owner Micky Arison, team president Pat Riley and coach Erik Spoelstra will get to say, 'I told you so.'

In some ways, not all.

That's because when all is said and done, at the end of the regular season, the Heat will finish with a better record than it did a year ago. Miami will enter the playoffs a better team than it did a year ago.

And the Heat will have a better chance to advance than it did a year ago. Funny how quickly things change around here. Just a little more than a month ago, Miami's playoff chances seemed on life support.

I presented in this very blog space 10 logical reasons for playoff panic. And then, this Heat team proceeded to do what it always does. It did the unexpected. This team has had a tendency all season to drive you crazy, and then drive itself right back into contention.

"Just when everybody thinks we're down and counts us out, we've been able to come back and prove that we've got a lot left," Heat forward and co-captain Udonis Haslem said. "That's the way it's been all year."

And now, they're here.

With eight regular-season games remaining against teams all out of play contention and a combined 189 games below the .500 mark, the stage is set for the Heat to storm into the playoffs.

Which, based on its M.O. all season, is reason No. 1 why you shouldn't feel too comfortable. Again, just when there are expectations and high hopes for this team, it has shown a tendency to deliver the opposite.

But March has been a month in which the Heat has made strides in distancing itself from that stigma. Miami has won 11 of 14 games to get to 40-34 going into Wednesday's game at Detroit. It is six games above .500 for the first time since March of 2007.

When all is said and done, I've got the Heat winning six of its final eight to close at 46-36. Those two potential stumbling blocks could come at Indiana this week and at either New York or Philadelphia in a back-to-back set on the season's final road trip.

Still, when all is said and done, that would be a three-game improvement from last season, when it finished fifth, advanced to the first round of the playoffs and lost in seven games to the Atlanta Hawks.

Unless the Milwaukee Bucks go on another ridiculously successful run despite a loaded schedule down the stretch, a 6-2 finish should give the Heat just enough of an edge to finish a game or so ahead of the Bucks to reclaim the fifth seed in the East.

And that could very well put the Heat in first-round rematch against the Hawks, with the Heat 3-1 against those very dirty birds this season. Of course, it could also mean a matchup with the Celtics, too. And Miami is 0-3 against Boston after squandering late leads in two of those games.

Even with all of the twists and turns of this turbulent season, the Heat is in position to, technically, be the improved team that Arison, Riley and Spoelstra talked about in training camp. But they can't take full credit for those proclamations because the Heat didn't take the route here that was charted.

The development of young players Mario Chalmers, Daequan Cook and Michael Beasley has revealed anything but clear-cut progress. The improved play at point guard has come from Carlos Arroyo, not Chalmers. The shooter expected to take pressure off Dwyane Wade has come from Quentin Richardson, not Cook or James Jones. The breakthrough season needed from Micheal Beasley has given way to the late surprising surges from Joel Anthony and O'Neal, who, according to TNT folks, has stepped out of the hot tub time machine.

When all is said and done, this team has delivered on the modest expectations heading into the playoffs. Even though it took a different and much more bumpy path to make that delivery.

(For live news, notes and updates on the Heat, follow me on Twitter @ twitter.com/wallacesports. To post a question or join our live Heat chat each Thursday from 1-2 p.m., click here.)

The Miami Heat looked defeat in the eye and didn't blink.

Instead, the Heat turned a 17-point third quarter deficit around and pulled off their biggest comeback of the season to defeat the Raptors 97-94 on Sunday at AmericanAirlines Arena.

At 40-34, Miami is six games above the .500 mark for the first time since March of the 2006-07 season. It also maintained its hold on sixth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race, where the Heat sits a game behind fifth-place Milwaukee.

Dwyane Wade did plenty, but this was a night when others on the roster clearly stepped up to help the team avoid what could have been a momentum-killing vibe the team has been on the past few weeks. Udonis Haslem scored 23 points, Carlos Arroyo scored 8 of his 12 in the fourth, and sealed it from the free-throw line, and Joel Anthony filled in solidly for the injured Jermaine O'Neal.

A loss would have put the Heat in a very difficult spot, with Miami already losing the tie-breaker edge to Milwaukee and Charlotte. Instead, the Heat earned a season split with the Raptors. The finish sets up pretty well for the Heat, which plays its final eight games against teams with losing records and all but out of playoff contention.

D. WADE'S DOINGS: Wade was in a fighting mood. Perhaps it had something to do with his dog, Sasha, being attacked by other dogs while the Heat was away on that three-game trip last week. Sasha remains in the vet as she recovers from injuries that left her in need of a couple of doggy casts. The ordeal clearly troubled Wade, who will spend the team's off day on Monday "at the hospital with her." The man had a lot on his mind. And he clearly didn't want to add to the misery by seeing the Heat blown out at home after its first undefeated road trip of the season. Wade had another of those Magic Johnson-type performances Spoelstra has talked about. He finished with 32 points, seven rebounds and six assists, five steals and three blocks. Those numbers helped to offset his six turnovers. Once Toronto loaded up on Wade, he was more than ready to become a facilitator. That opened the door for Haslem and Arroyo to step up huge.

TURNING POINT: The Heat used a 15-2 run that started in the third quarter to claw back from that 17-point Raptors lead. Haslem and Arroyo simply took over in the fourth, combining to score 19 points in the period. Toronto simply wilted away and couldn't make a shot.

WINNING/LOSING EDGE: Miami's hot shooting was clearly the edge. The Heat shot 52.9 percent overall and was 61.3 percent in the second half. The Raptors shot 42 percent in the second half.

HEAD-SCRATCHER: Michael Beasley's up-and-down play has hit another dip. He missed 9 of 10 shots and had four turnovers while finishing with only 2 points. It had to be a low-point of the season for the second-year player. He said the other day that he was searching for the player who used to dominate the game in college during his lone season at Kansas State. That search is about to hit a desperation point. It's not a good thing for Beasley that the team is playing so well despite his struggles. But clearly, there's too much talent in Beasley for things to continue this way. At some point, he either has to alter his game or his approach to dealing with this inconsistency. Something's gotta give here, right? Right? The Heat is a much better team when Beasley's confident, loose and productive. The team will need him in the playoffs. He's got a handful of regular-season games left to work his way out of the doldrums.

KEY CONTRIBUTION: Haslem always talks about how much of his game he's had to sacrifice in order to fully embrace the heart-and-hustle role with the Heat. On Sunday, he got back to being the kind of low-post option he was during his days at Florida. Haslem was 10 of 11 from the field and scored 11 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter. This comes a game after he matched his career high with 18 rebounds in the win at Milwaukee. And better still, this comes with him essentially playing on one leg because of that severe ankle sprain. Everyone knows that Haslem is probably one of the league's best spot-up shooting forwards from the baseline. That's his shot. Has been for years. But he showed other parts of his offense. There was the up-and-under move at the basket. There was also the spinning drive into the lane for another score.

NEXT UP: Heat at Detroit Pistons, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday - The Palace of Auburn Hills

(For live news, notes and updates on the Heat, follow me on Twitter @ twitter.com/wallacesports. To post a question or join our live Heat chat each Thursday from 1-2 p.m., click here.)

CHICAGO - The feeling was much different in the United Center's visitors locker room six weeks ago.

Back then, the Heat was just coming off a 95-91 loss to the Bulls, a setback that extended Miami's losing streak to five consecutive games. It was the longest drought the Heat has had all season.

Emotions were raw. Feelings were hurt. Questions were asked. Doubt was dominant.

"It doesn't seem that long ago that I was walking down this hall and we had just dropped a game here and went to 24-27," coach Erik Spoelstra recalled Thursday night. "Some people had jumped off the bandwagon."

That was the lowest of the low for the Heat this season. Now, Miami is riding a bit higher. Much higher, actually, after Thursday's 103-74 destruction of the Bulls.

The Heat was so lethal early that all it needed was 19 minutes to build a 30-point lead, one it carried into the halftime break. This was never a contest after Miami's initial onslaught. The Heat (38-34) has won nine of its past 12 games and moved to 2-0 on a critical three-game road trip that ends Friday in Milwaukee.

D. WADE'S DOINGS: Wade has struggled mightily in his previous homecomings. But he decided to take the pressure off himself early in this one. "You always want to play well in front of your hometown, family and friends," Wade said. "But tonight wasn't about that. I stopped thinking about that. This was about team." So Wade took on the role of facilitator and carved up the Bulls' defense with nine first-half assists to go with eight points. The Heat was so precise early that it only needed 12 points, 10 assists and 29 minutes from Wade, who barely broke a sweat this time.

TURNING POINT: There really was no turning point. It was more like a blitz. The Heat raced to a 31-19 lead in the first quarter and pushed the lead to 30 midway through the second quarter. Miami's 63-33 halftime lead was the second-largest first-half edge in franchise history.

WINNING/LOSING EDGE: The Heat shot 60 percent in the first half. The Bulls couldn't even muster half of that percentage in shooting just 27.9 percent in the first half. Game over. Done.

HEAD-SCRATCHER: Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson delivered the humorous lines as expected during TNT's special court-side announcement of Thursday's game. The line about Jermaine O'Neal finding the hot tub time machine was classic. So was Barkley's insistence upon keeping the mic in front of his own mouth when he did the first-half interview with Spoelstra. He didn't know to even slide the mic over to Spo when it was Spo's turn to speak. But I'm not sure how I feel about that line from Barkley in the second half, when he said the Bulls were struggling like black people in the 1960s. I know it was meant in fun. But some things you just can't compare. There's a reason most people no longer compare sporting battles to war or make references to someone having an unstoppable night as that person blowing up "like the World Trade Centers." Barkley is 99 percent entertaining on things he says. There is no TNT show without him. But there is the rare time when he might want to think about what he says before he blurts it out.

KEY CONTRIBUTION: Jermaine O'Neal is pricing himself out of the Heat's potential pay range this summer with these type of performances. On Thursday, he got 24 points in 24 minutes. He also had two blocks, three assists and four rebounds. O'Neal said this is the best he has felt since the middle of his tenure in Indiana, when he was a perennial All-Star. He's finishing the season much better than it started. It will be interesting to see if he can carry this momentum down the stretch and into the playoffs. O'Neal has made 20 of his last 30 shots and is the timely defensive anchor the Heat needs.

NEXT UP: Heat at Milwaukee Bucks, 8:30 p.m. Friday - Bradley Center.

(For live news, notes and updates on the Heat, follow me on Twitter @ twitter.com/wallacesports. To post a question or join our live Heat chat each Thursday from 1-2 p.m., click here.)

CHICAGO - The sights and sounds from the Heat's practice in Chi-Town offered a number of interesting tidbits during Wednesday's workout in advance of Thursday's game against the Bulls.

-Several Heat players felt right at home during the two-hour session. And they probably should have. Miami practiced on the West Side at the spacious facility run by noted trainer Tim Grover, who has worked with Dwyane Wade, Jermaine O'Neal, Dorell Wright and Quentin Richardson among dozens of other NBA players during the NBA offseason. Just consider it the house Grover built on his hookup with Michael Jordan.

-Naturally, with Wade's high school coach (now a regional scout for the Heat) and several TV camera crews in attendance to interview Wade, the subject of potentially playing for his hometown Chicago Bulls came up. Wade, who has carefully and playfully handled questions about his pending free agency, was again prepared to offer very little. He did, however, suggest that Chicago probably shouldn't have cleared cap space especially for him. "I understand the business side of it, so I understand what they're doing," Wade said. "But it had nothing to do with me." Yeah. Right.

-After initially taking offense to Charles Barkley labeling him among the "Titos" who have failed to offer enough support to Wade's Michael Jackson, forward Michael Beasley changed his tune Wednesday. He said Barkley should feel free to call him anything he wants. He simply doesn't care. "He can call me Tito. He can call me New Edition. Spongebob. He can call me whoever he wants. I'm going to go out there and play."

Beasley said the name-calling episode with Barkley was never anything personal. "I might have said (something) the wrong way. He took it the wrong way. It escalated and snowballed. But I honestly really don't care."

-There was a first for me in four years on the Heat beat. Until Wednesday, I had never seen assistant coach and Hall of Fame player Bob McAdoo lose a shooting contest after practice to any of the players that have flowed through the franchise. If it's one thing 'Doo can still do, it's shoot the ball. He insists he could still average double figures today, at age 58, "as long as I don't have to run back the other way and play defense," he's fond of saying. But Jermaine O'Neal somehow got 'Doo to reach into his pocket to hand over a few bucks after O'Neal beat him from the college three-point line."I tried to warn him," O'Neal joked afterward. "I would have shot like 80 percent from that college three-point line had I gone to college." Responded 'Doo: "Anybody gets lucky once. He lucked up on that last shot." 

-Had a chance to holler at Carlos Arroyo, who said he would not only like to resign with the Heat next   season, but that he'd also try to recruit free agent Raja Bell to play with Miami, too. Bell was released a few days ago by the Golden State Warriors. He has missed most of the season with a wrist injury. Bell played at FIU with Arroyo and still lives in Miami. "Our wives are best friends, too," Arroyo said. "I haven't talked to him since he was released, but I know he can help this team and be a good fit. Wouldn't it be something if we both were able to play here next year?"

(For live news, notes and updates on the Heat, follow me on Twitter @ twitter.com/wallacesports. To post a question or join our live Heat chat each Thursday from 1-2 p.m., click here.)

Finally, there was a breakthrough against the Bobcats.

And all the Heat had to do was step back and watch Charlotte launch its brick-fest. In a game that was more about which team would find a way to miss one fewer shot, the Heat survived for a 77-71 victory against the Bobcats on Saturday at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Remember that 39-point beating the Bobcats handed Miami back in January? The one that set all those franchise records for Charlotte? Well, the Heat avenged that drubbing by rewriting its own record books with Saturday's dominant defensive effort against the Bobcats.

The 71 points were the fewest Miami has allowed in the history of the series. Charlotte's 29.2 percent shooting was the lowest by a Heat opponent this season. The Bobcats 16 percent clip in the second half was a franchise-record low for a Heat opponent.

With the victory, the Heat (36-34) moved a half-game ahead of Charlotte (35-34) and into sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings. Miami lost the season series, 3-1, meaning it loses the tiebreaker. The win was also huge because it allowed the Heat to finish its six-game homestand at 4-2, with six of its next seven games on the road.

D. WADE'S DOINGS: Wade was held to only 14 points on 6-of-18 shooting against the Bobcats. Still, the Heat managed to get the win. Miami had been 5-19 since 2005-06 when Wade finished a game with fewer than 16 points. But Wade didn't let his offensive doldrums or the five fouls dictate his night. He simply dominated on defense. He tied his career high with five blocks and limited Stephen Jackson to 4-of-21 shooting. Jackson had gotten the better in the matchup the previous games, but not Saturday. Wade also had nine assists and five rebounds.

TURNING POINT: The Bobcats went nearly 14 minutes without a field goal, a stretch that started after Boris Diaw's hook with 4:37 left in the third period and ended with Raymond Felton's floater with three minutes left in the game. The Heat only added a point to its lead during the drought, but the Bobcats had shot themselves out of answers at that point.

WINNING/LOSING EDGE: With Jermaine O'Neal sitting out with an ankle injury, the Heat was clearly the shorter, less-athletic team. But that didn't stop Miami from overcoming that apparent disadvantage by blocking a season-high 13 shots. Wade led the way with 5, but six different Heat players had at least one.

HEAD-SCRATCHER: That must have been some heart-to-heart session between Michael Beasley and Alonzo Mourning the other day. Mourning, who has mentored Beasley throughout the season, sat his pupil down late last week to demand that Beasley put the "power" back into his position at power forward. Beasley has floated around on the perimeter for far too long. Beasley has said that it wasn't his preference to primarily be in position to take jumpers. But Mourning lit a fire under Beasley, who was aggressive and attacking the paint most of the night Saturday. He did get his shot swatted a time or two, but he kept coming back. Beasley finished with 16 points and seven boards. He even got to the free-throw line a couple of times and converted all four of his attempts. "I was having fun," Beasley said. "To be completely honest, Alonzo Mourning kind of roughed me up a little bit. He told me I needed to play harder and to stop settling for jump shots. He didn't hurt me. He made his presence known."

KEY CONTRIBUTION: Quentin Richardson gave the Heat absolutely nothing in the second half Saturday. But he couldn't have given the Heat any more than he offered in the first. The inconsistent stretches continued for Richardson. But he provided a major boost for the Heat early. His six threes in the first half tied a franchise record. All 18 points he scored came from beyond the arc and in the first half, when the Heat carried a two-point lead into the break. Richardson was 6 of 18 from the field, 6 of 12 from deep. He had five rebounds, a steal and a block in 27 minutes.

NEXT UP: Heat at New Jersey Nets, 7:30 p.m. Monday - IZOD Center

(For live news, notes and updates on the Heat, follow me on Twitter @ twitter.com/wallacesports. To post a question or join our live Heat chat each Thursday from 1-2 p.m., click here.)

It was ugly. Then it got uglier.

But the Heat wasn't trying to win an NBA beauty pageant at AmericanAirlines Arena on Friday night. Its goal was to continue its improved play at home and notch a much-needed victory over the Chicago Bulls.

With several key players missing for both teams, the Heat had enough personnel - even on a night when Dwyane Wade struggled - to get past the Bulls 108-95. Miami extended its season-best homecourt winning streak to five games and also gained ground in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

The Heat accomplished plenty, albeit in ugly fashion Friday. Miami moved up to seventh place in the East, with a half-game lead over Toronto and a 2-1/2 game edge over the Bulls.

Miami did it without the services of Dorell Wright, who began his two-game suspension for his DUI arrest after Wednesday night's victory against the Clippers. Miami did it without Michael Beasley, the team's second-leading scorer who sat out with a deep left thigh bruise. And Miami did it without Rafer Alston, whose indefinite suspension was upgraded to a separation for the remainder of the season.

In other words, the Rafer Alston experiment is over.

"We are at the point where we must move forward with the rest of the season during our playoff push," Heat president Pat Riley said of officially parting ways with Alston, who abruptly left the team last week after he was demoted from the starting lineup and has yet to communicate with the team.

The Heat was able to overcame all of the distraction, in part, because it faced a team that seemed to be in much worse shape. The Bulls were without Derrick Rose, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah.

In other words, these weren't the Bulls.

D. WADE'S DOINGS: Wade emerged from the first quarter with as many turnovers (five) as he had points (five). That tells you the kind of night he was having. Still, he managed to close with 22 points after he scored nine in the fourth quarter. Wade really didn't wake up until he got into that little testy brush with Bulls center Brad Miller, who was called for a flagrant foul on Wade midway through the fourth quarter. Wade was aggressive, although he wasn't necessarily dominant. This was a night when his teammates had to carry their weight early and often. Even with the six total turnovers, Wade had seven assists. It helped that Jermaine O'Neal and Quentin Richardson had their games going well.

TURNING POINT: The Heat outscored the Bulls 29-18 in the third quarter, when it pushed its lead to 18 points. The Heat shot 53 percent from the field, was 8 of 9 from the free-throw line. Miami also held the Bulls to 37 percent shooting.

WINNING/LOSING EDGE: The Bulls were without three of their four most productive players in Derrick Rose, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah. The Heat was only without one of their four most productive players in Beasley. Advantage: Heat. That simple.

HEAD-SCRATCHER: Apparently, the Heat finally wised up and realized that waiting on that phone call from Rafer Alston was time well wasted. I'm wondering what took the franchise so long. Even if you take Alston at his word that he left mainly because of a family issue, it was completely unprofessional to never get in touch with anyone in the organization to offer an explanation. The Heat severed ties for good with Alston on Friday, when Pat Riley upgraded Alston's suspension from indefinite to a parting for the rest of the season. Alston was on a prorated, one-year contract for the vet's minimum, which means his days in Miami are over. The reunion was ruined. The Heat can move on. For whatever reason, there's somewhat of a dark cloud over the franchise right now, considering the events of the past two weeks. But the Heat is putting aside the distractions of the Alston fiasco and two player arrests by winning basketball games.

KEY CONTRIBUTION: Quentin Richardson and Jermaine O'Neal stepped up huge to help the Heat  overcome a night when Wade was off and Beasley was out of the lineup with an injury. Richardson, the league's most productive three-point shooter this month, tied his season high by drilling seven treys and finishing with 23 points on 8 of 12 shooting from the field. O'Neal scored a season-high 25 points on 8 of 13 shooting from the field and 9 of 11 shooting from the free-throw line. That's playoff-level production. Now, they must find a way to maintain that production as the Heat's playoff push intensifies.

NEXT UP: Philadelphia 76ers at Heat, 6 p.m. Sunday - AmericanAirlines Arena.

(For live news, notes and updates on the Heat, follow me on Twitter @ twitter.com/wallacesports. To post a question or join our live Heat chat each Thursday from 1-2 p.m., click here.)

In Charlotte on Tuesday, there was the collapse.

In Miami on Wednesday, there were the Clippers.

Sometimes, timing is everything. It was the only thing that mattered for the Heat, which eased its anger and disappointment from Tuesday's come-from-ahead loss to the Bobcats with a 108-97 victory against the depressing Los Angeles Clippers. The Heat led wire to wire this time.

In bouncing back from blowing a 15-point lead in Charlotte, the Heat got the kind of balanced effort that has usually been a winning formula. Dwyane Wade flirted with a triple-double, Jermaine O'Neal was solid in the middle, Michael Beasley had his moments and the bench came through big most of the night.

As a result, the Heat has won four in a row at home, which is key, considering it is in the midst of a stretch when it plays 11 of 13 in the MIA. The games only get bigger from here, with a visit from the Chicago Bulls on Friday. It's another matchup against a team that is fighting with the Heat (33-32) for one of the final playoff spots in the East.

D. WADE'S DOINGS: It was almost as if Wade was trying to send a message to officiating crews throughout the league on Wednesday. After he barely got to the line at all Tuesday in Charlotte, Wade drove and drove and drove against the Clippers until he heard a whistle. He was 15 of 17 from the line on Wednesday, meaning he attempted more free throws against the Clippers than the Heat took as a team against the Bobcats. Other than that, Wade rounded out a nice and efficient night by going 6 of 12 from the field, without even bothering to take a three-pointer. Which is a good thing. He closed with 27 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in 30 minutes.

TURNING POINT: Rasual Butler was motivated to face his former team. He nearly led the Clippers back into the game with a 31-point effort, two off his career high, and was simply sick from three-point land at 6 of 11. But after his three made it 75-70 late in the third, the Heat closed the quarter on a 15-2 run to take its largest lead at 90-72.

WINNING/LOSING EDGE: Miami was 29 of 35 from the free-throw line, which was its second-highest scoring output from the charity stripe this season. Meanwhile the Clippers were 10 of 13 from the line.

HEAD-SCRATCHER: The Heat's bench is a microcosm of the overall roster. Some nights they are a crew of beasts. Others, they are closer to bums. Wednesday was one of the good nights. Mario Chalmers appeared and was 4 of 7 from three-point range. He finished with 12 points. James Jones made all three of his treys in a cameo role. Udonis Haslem led the team with 10 rebounds. And Jamaal "Big Cat" Magloire had nine boards, six points and a team-high three blocks. This team will need plenty of nights like this down the stretch to make this playoff push worthwhile. But, of course, it's hard to tell much when the Clippers are on the other side of the court.

KEY CONTRIBUTION: Jermaine O'Neal was dunking. That's all that needs to be said. He even got a dunk on an And-1 opportunity. That was the highlight of a 19-point, 9-rebound effort against the Clippers. O'Neal was 7 of 16 from the field and 5 of 5 from the free-throw line. He was a factor on both ends of the court. Chris Kaman and Marcus Camby owned the matchup in the post when the Clippers cruised past the Heat in Los Angeles earlier this season. O'Neal won the battle this time against Kaman.

NEXT UP: Chicago Bulls at Heat, 7:30 p.m. Friday - AmericanAirlines Arena

(For live news, notes and updates on the Heat, follow me on Twitter @ twitter.com/wallacesports. To post a question or join our live Heat chat each Thursday from 1-2 p.m., click here.)

My colleague Israel Gutierrez is covering tonight's Heat game up in Charlotte, so there won't be a postgame blog until after Wednesday's game against the Clippers.

Instead, here's a pregame blog to get you ready for tonight's showdown.

There are a few issues to touch on before tonight's critical matchup with the Bobcats, who have basically owned the Heat this season and have won eight of the past 12 matchups between the teams. But that's just one of several pressing matters the Heat face entering tonight's game.

PICK-AND-ROLL

First, there's the continued fallout from the wake-up blow Dwyane Wade delivered to Michael Beasley the other night during the Heat's come-from-behind victory against the Atlanta Hawks. While the motivating punch Wade sent to Beasley's chest during a timeout caught most of the attention, Wade said in the aftermath that the most important thing about the exchange was the message he shot Beasley's way.

"The main thing, of course, was the punch in the chest made headlines," Wade said of the blow he hopes still stings Beasley entering tonight's game at Charlotte. "But the main thing that hit home with Michael is that I said, 'I need you.' I need him. Hearing me say that really set home for him. We really all need Michael to be a player. That's what he's gotta start doing."

While Beasley responded by scoring 14 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter to help carry the Heat to the win against the Hawks, Wade believes the message won't resonate until Beasley is able to carry that level of intensity over to the next game, and the next one after that, starting with tonight.

"Hopefully, he gets it," Wade said. "If he don't, we'll still try to make him get it, because we believe in him. If we didn't, we wouldn't try to say nothing to him. But we're on him because we know how much potential he has. I can't keep (punching him), because one time, he's going to hit me back. Y'all seen his hands?"

POST UP

Staying with Wade for a minute, he also addressed Michael Jordan's transition from running the Bobcats to being in position to take over as the franchise's owner. Wade grew up in Chicago idolizing Jordan, and the two have established a close business partnership, with Wade being hand-picked by Jordan to wear No. 23's signature shoe.

"That's amazing to know that he has the opportunity to be a majority owner," Wade said of Jordan, who reportedly has assembled about $175 million to purchase the team from Bob Johnson. "First of all, it shows how smart he was with his money, to have an opportunity to do that. And he's grown as a businessman, and what he's looking to do in his future. I hope the best for him and his organization, unless they play us."

SLAM DUNK

Charlotte has already dominated the Heat twice this season, including a 39-point drubbing in Charlotte on Jan. 20 that set all kind of franchise records for the Bobcats, and many low-water mark of the season for Miami. And that was before the Bobcats added Tyrus Thomas and Theo Ratliff (pictured below) in trades and got back Tyson Chandler from injury.

That's about 20 extra feet of athleticism in the post the Heat will have to contend with this time around.

"That's a lot of size and athleticism down there to deal with," Heat forward UD "Don't call me Udonis" Haslem said. "We just have to play our game. We've shown that our game is good enough to beat anybody, when we play our game."

CROSSOVER

On a lot of levels, nothing surprises me about what this team does anymore. Having said that, it sounds a lot like the Heat is more willing to replace the boycotting Rafer Alston with a young prospect who could come in and make as few waves as possible in terms of the team's chemistry at this point.

There isn't much time or opportunity for a third point guard in the Heat's rotation approach. So while there's something to be said about bringing in a savvy veteran for a playoff push, there's even more to be said about adding a young prospect who might not disrupt what's in place and also show enough to be a cost-effective part of the Heat's future.

"It has to be somebody that could fit in," coach Erik Spoelstra said.

(For live news, notes and updates on the Heat, follow me on Twitter @ twitter.com/wallacesports. To post a question or join our live Heat chat each Thursday from 1-2 p.m., click here.)