Dwyane Wade's 3-point game-winner for the ages lifts Heat over Warriors 126-125

MIAMI (AP) — Dwyane Wade banked in a straightaway 3-pointer as time expired and the Miami Heat wasted a 24-point lead before rallying to beat the Golden State Warriors 126-125 on Wednesday night.

Wade scored 25 points to help Miami snap a six-game home losing streak. He took a victory lap, waving a towel as the fans roared and “This Is My House” was displayed on the video boards.

“Sometimes you just need to be lucky,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said after giving Wade a long bear-hug in a jubilant postgame locker room. “We’ve had so many of these breaks go against us.”

Goran Dragic led the Heat with 27 points. Josh Richardson added 21, and Miami made 18 3-pointers.

Klay Thompson scored 36 points for the Warriors. Kevin Durant added 29, but missed a free throw with 14 seconds left that kept the Heat within two points. Durant made the second of two on that trip, and Wade delivered on the ensuing possession for the biggest win of Miami’s season.

Stephen Curry added 24 points for the Warriors, whose lead over Denver atop the Western Conference dropped to a half-game.

Golden State rallied from 19 down to win 120-118 at home on Feb. 10, and dug its way out of an even bigger hole this time — but couldn’t finish it off. Wade’s 3-pointer with 15 seconds left got Miami to 124-123, and he came up with one more when the Heat needed it most.

“Dwyane just hit an unbelievable shot,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “It was going in as soon as it left his hand.”

Dragic had 25 points by halftime, getting 20 of those in the second quarter alone — setting Heat single-quarter and any-half records for a reserve. He had 11 points in a span of 69 seconds in the second quarter, and a pair of free throws with 2:59 left in the half put Miami up 69-45.

Against most teams, even in the first half, a 24-point lead might have been enough.

The Warriors, of course, are not most teams.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Durant and Thompson helped Golden State get the lead down to 74-59 by halftime. The Warriors cut the lead to seven on two separate occasions in the third quarter, and kept whittling away in the fourth — getting within six when Draymond Green rattled in a 3-pointer from the right corner with 8:20 left, then 106-103 when Curry connected from deep on the next possession.

The Warriors led for all of 1:14 in the second half. Wade didn’t let them leave with the lead.

TIP-INS

Warriors: DeMarcus Cousins (load management and Achilles recovery) got the night off, and the Warriors said he will play in Orlando on Thursday. … Wednesday was the sixth anniversary of Curry’s career-high 54-point game at Madison Square Garden, and the third anniversary of his game-winner from about 40 feet to win at Oklahoma City.

Heat: Miami was without Hassan Whiteside (hip strain) and James Johnson (shoulder sprain). Justise Winslow (knee) and Derrick Jones Jr. (flu) … The 74 first-half points tied the second-most in Heat history. Miami scored 75 against the Los Angeles Clippers on Nov. 19, 1997, and 74 against Dallas on Nov. 11, 1999. … Udonis Haslem checked in during the third quarter, playing at home for the second time this season.

ROAD WARRIORS

Golden State remains one win shy of finishing with a road record over .500 for the sixth consecutive season. That would extend the longest current streak in the league, one that Toronto would match with two wins in its final 11 road games. Before this six-year road run of success, the Warriors had a road record over .500 in six of their previous 65 seasons.