Forward Michael Beasley remains a defensive focal point for both the Heat and opponents. Beasley had been yanked for practically the entire fourth quarter in four of Miami's last six games entering Monday's contest against Houston because of his poor defense. He feels opponents are picking on him.

"I think so," he said. "But other rookies before me, and other rookies now, are getting the same treatment. I just have to be prepared mentally. That's basically what it is.

"You can have all the physical attributes, but if you don't have it up there," he said pointing to his head, "it doesn't really mean anything."

Beasley said he's never been asked to play defense in high school, AAU or college ball.

"In high school it was, 'We're gonna roll the ball out there and...

With his team in a double-digit hole, Dwyane Wade hit a long 3-pointer at the end of the first half, then turned toward the Miami Heat bench and nodded. His message was clear: This game isn't over. And his teammates went out and proved him right. Wade shook off flu-like symptoms to score 38 points, and the Heat outscored Indiana by 21 after halftime to beat the Pacers 109-100 on Saturday night.

Dwyane Wade did something the NBA hadn't seen in more than 31 years. It still wasn't enough to take down the sharpshooting Toronto Raptors. Andrea Bargnani scored a season-high 25 points, Jermaine O'Neal added 16 points and 17 rebounds, and the Raptors were 8-for-8 on 3-pointers in the second half to overcome Wade's huge effort and beat the Miami Heat 101-95 on Wednesday night.

Before the game, coach Eddie Jordan said of his Washington Wizards: "We don't have rhythm, we don't have harmony, we're trying to incorporate chemistry." The Miami Heat seem to have the makings of all three, even though they're starting two rookies on a team that last year went 15-67. The Heat beat the Wizards on Tuesday night for the second time in five days.

When the time came to turn it on, the Miami Heat fell short. Chris Bosh scored 27 points, Jermaine O'Neal had 11 points and 18 rebounds and the Toronto Raptors snapped a two-game losing streak with a 107-96 victory over the Heat on Sunday. Kris Humphries scored 14 points and Andrea Bargnani added 12 in his first start of the season.

Whenever possible, Miami coach Erik Spoelstra reminds his team that defense and rebounding have long been cornerstones of the Heat philosophy. Those players are listening. Dwyane Wade scored 24 points before taking the fourth quarter off, the Heat held Washington without a field goal for 9 minutes in the second half and outrebounded the bigger Wizards by a huge margin on the way to an easy 97-77...

All the buzz was about Greg Oden's return, yet it was another rookie who stole the show for the Portland Trail Blazers. Rudy Fernandez scored 25 points, including a clutch spinning jumper as the shot clock expired with 44.9 seconds left, and the Blazers celebrated Oden's comeback from a sprained right foot with a 104-96 victory over the Miami Heat on Wednesday night.

Dwyane Wade was mildly surprised midway through the final quarter to see the Miami Heat trailed by only 10. "We still had a chance," Wade said. Where there's a Wade, there's a way. Wade scored 19 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter, 14 of those in the final 4 1/2 minutes, and the Heat rallied to beat the New Jersey Nets 99-94 on Monday night to stay perfect at home this season.