The Nets went into the fourth quarter down three. But Dwyane Wade was resting on the Miami bench. This was the time to make a move. They didn't have to search the memory banks too far to remember Wade's destructive ability: 19 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter last time.

So the Nets got the lead by one. Then Wade, the NBA's leading scorer, returned at 7:30.

Hey, the Nets had their chance.

"That man hit some incredible shots and we did everything we could," said Trenton Hassell, who drew the short straw much of the night and got stuck defending Wade. "You feel like you're playing great defense on him and he's making some tough shots that some people can't make in H-O-R-S-E."

Wade had a direct hand - either scoring or assisting - in 17 of Miami's last 21 points. With a display that was jaw-dropping at times, Wade finished with a season high-tying 43 points as the Heat, with a 106-103 victory, prevented the Nets again from winning two straight at home for the first time this season.

"When my shot started falling like it did, I knew eventually they would have to start changing their defense up and that's when you start finding other guys," said Wade, who shot 13-of-22 (and 16-of-18 at the line) and had five assists.

"It came down to you know, who can dig deeper. Wade pulled out this win," said coach Lawrence Frank, whose Nets were led by Brook Lopez in a terrific 22-point, 13-rebound, five-block, zero-free throw performance. "We tried to throw everything at him, from normal defense to blitzing pick and rolls to trapping his isolations. He was relentless."

Yeah, nothing worked.

After a dismal defensive first half (62-56 Miami lead), the Nets, who started Hassell (10 points) for Bobby Simmons (bruised shoulders), failed to take advantage of a struggling Heat offense in the third quarter. With 21-point scorers Devin Harris and Vince Carter shooting poorly (they combined for 10-of-29), the Nets failed to get closer than two in the third. But in the fourth, a Carter fade-away at 7:31 gave the Nets a one-point lead.

Enter Wade. Exit, as it turned out, the Nets' hopes.

"We tried our best to get it out of his hands, he made plays," Harris said. "He's splitting three, four defenders. That's why he is who he is."

On Wade's second sequence after returning, he fed Shawn Marion for a dunk - just seconds after Jarvis Hayes was leveled with a shoulder to the head on a blind screen from Joel Anthony. Hayes (mild concussion) eventually was led to the locker room and did not return. Wade next fed Daequan Cook (17 points) for a triple.

The Nets (13-13) went back ahead 97-96 on two Carter free throws at 2:16, but then Wade scored on a reverse layup and next made two free throws on a phantom call against Lopez at 1:19. The crowd - and the Nets - reacted bitterly on the call, when with one second on the shot clock, Wade seemed to lose his balance.

"Being a rookie I guess that was a little tripping foul. My foot being in the proximity of his foot foul," Lopez said. Wade missed the second free throw, the Heat rebounded and Wade went back to the line. Another 1-of-2 set followed - as did a Carter miss. And two more Wade free throws with 41.1 seconds left for a 102-97 lead.

"It's tough. You just hope you can contest and bother him," Carter said. "Once he's confident about his jump shot, and he's hitting it like he is, it's just tough."