Jones scored 16 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter as the Miami Heat posted a 112-103 victory over the Orlando Magic, completing a sweep of the home-and-home series.
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"We needed him (Eddie) to step up because they were really leaning on Dwyane," Heat coach Stan Van Gundy said. "Eddie's still as good a third scorer as there is in this league. He showed tonight just how capable he is if you give him some chances."
"You know its going to be a good game when Eddie comes out aggressive," said Wade, who collected 28 points and 11 assists despite being the primary focus of the Magic's defense.
After the Magic sliced a 19-point third-quarter deficit to 81-75 at the 10:30 mark, Jones answered with a 3-pointer. His shot from the arc started a run where he scored all 12 of his team's points to extend the lead to 93-86 with 6:13 remaining.
Wade was also was a factor in the down the stretch by coming up with a series of hustle plays. After Jones badly missed a 19-foot jumper, Wade snuck under the basket to collect the offensive rebound and flipped it back to Jones for a jumper from the free-throw line, making it 99-93 with 3:35 left.
"When the shots are there we have to take them," said Jones, who added five assists and four rebounds while connecting on 9-of-18 shots from the floor. "Dwyane did a heck of job penetrating and kicking out. When he kicks it out, you have to make those shots."
Orlando continued to pressure Miami drawing within 99-95 with 2:55 to play, but Wade came up clutch again, chasing down Steve Francis in the open court and preventing a dunk by knocking the ball away.
"I was trying to just get back on defense and make a play," Wade said. "I had just turned the ball over and I was trying to get back on defense and make something happen. At that time in the game every basket counts. We just dug in at the end and made the plays that we needed to win."
"My hat goes of to them," Francis said. "They countered everything we did. It was a good hard fought game, but it's always sad when you can't come out with a victory."
Wade blocked three shots and Damon Jones added 22 for the Heat, who improved to 13-0 vs. Southeast Division teams this season.
"Those Jones boys hit I don't know how many 3-pointers between them," Francis said. "Not being able to get out to their shooters in crucial situations, that's what really hurt us."
Eddie and Damon Jones combined to shot 10-of-19 from the arc for Miami, which recorded its seventh-straight win over Orlando.
"He (Wade) put incredible pressure on us defensively to have to come in and shut his penetration down, which freed up their shooters on the outside," Orlando coach Johnny Davis said. "To their credit, they (Miami) shot 22 three's and made 11 of them. That's tough."
Grant Hill scored 34 points and rookie point guard Jameer Nelson chipped in 14 to go along with eight rebounds and six assists for the Magic, who have lost three-straight games since the All-Star break.
