Miami 111, Minnesota 92

The visiting Miami Heat held the Minnesota Timberwolves without a field goal for the first seven minutes of the third quarter and Dwyane Wade scored 10 of his 32 points over the stretch in a 111-92 triumph Friday night.
 
With the win, Miami (53-23) stayed 2½ games back of Chicago (55-20) for the top spot in the East and gained a half-game edge over the Celtics for second. The Bulls beat Detroit on Friday night, while Boston (52-23) lost in Atlanta.
 
LeBron James added six of his 27 points during the 25-1 run that opened the third quarter and provided the Heat a 76-53 lead.
 
The Timberwolves (17-59) missed their first 14 shots of the third before Kevin Love converted a layup. Minnesota closed to within 10 with 8:49 left, but Chris Bosh hit a short jumper and James a pair of free throws to thwart the comeback bid.
 
Martell Webster had 22 points and Love added 18 and seven rebounds for Minnesota, which has lost nine straight and fallen to the bottom of the Western Conference.
 
Minnesota shot 50 percent (20 of 40) in the first half and outscored Miami 32-21 in the second quarter to take a 52-51 lead at the break. Webster scored 14 points off the bench, hitting all four shots from the arc.

• Minnesota will play their next game on the road against Memphis. The Timberwolves have a W/L % of .235 after a win and .220 after a loss.
• Miami will play their next game on the road against New Jersey . The Heat have a W/L % of .769 after a win and .542 after a loss.