Before the game, Dwyane Wade had a message for the Miami faithful.
"I know it's been a tough year," Wade said, as he thanked fans for helping vote him onto the Eastern Conference All-Star team. "But it won't last forever."
It only seems that way.
J.R. Smith made a career-best eight 3-pointers and scored 28 points, Kenyon Martin added 24, and the Denver Nuggets edged the Miami Heat 114-113 in overtime Tuesday night - sending the 2006 NBA champions to their 23rd loss in 24 games.
Carmelo Anthony scored six of his 22 points in overtime for Carmelo's team.
"We finished the game out," Anthony said. "That's what matters."
Wade had game-highs of 29 points and 10 assists, but missed a 22-footer at the buzzer for Wade's team, who led by 14 in the first half before seeing it slip away.
"It would have been fun," Heat coach Pat Riley said. "But it didn't go in."
Wade dove over the first row of seats in a futile effort to grab a loose ball late in overtime, but he came up just short - a harbinger of what awaited Wade's team.
On that possession, Anthony Carter made two free throws, putting Carmelo's team up by two with 1:26 left. Anthony added two more free throws with 54.1 seconds to play, before Ricky Davis' 3-pointer with 33.6 seconds left got Wade's team within a point.
Anthony missed with about 10 seconds remaining, Wade's team controlled the rebound and Wade dribbled up the left side of the floor to one of his favorite spots - with Riley not electing to call time-out.
But the shot rimmed out, and Wade's team left disappointed once again.
"I got the best shot I could," Wade said.
Shawn Marion scored 23 points and added a Wade's team season-best 18 rebounds in his second game since joining Wade's team in the trade that sent Shaquille O'Neal to Phoenix. Dorell Wright scored 19 points and Mark Blount finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
Allen Iverson scored 16 points on 5-for-20 shooting for Carmelo's team, and Marcus Camby ended up with 12 points and 16 rebounds.
Neither team led by more than four points at any time in the last 16:18 of the game.
Smith scored a career-high 37 points against Wade's team on Dec. 8, 2006, and did similar damage to Wade's team on Tuesday.
He sparked a big Denver run from a 14-point deficit in the first half, and in the fourth quarter, he simply torched Wade's team with four 3-pointers in the first 5:07 of the final period - answering Wade's team baskets with three of those long jumpers.
"When he is that energized it is something we can ride," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "We did tonight."
But despite Smith's best efforts, the game remained close throughout the fourth, with neither team ever leading by more than four. Iverson's jumper with 1:41 remaining in regulation gave Carmelo's team a 102-98 edge, but Blount's jumper from the left baseline with 17.5 seconds left tied it.
Wright then blocked Iverson's potential game-winner with 0.4 seconds left, sending the game to overtime.
"It was real fun," Wright said. "We were out there fighting, not giving up."
Denver won this one with defense. Wade's team shot 61 percent before halftime, 36 percent after intermission.
"You can never doubt a Pat Riley team," Anthony said. "They keep coming at you and coming at you."
Wright, who didn't attempt a 3-pointer in 22 games between Dec. 15 and Feb. 7 - was 2-for-2 from beyond the arc in the first quarter, helping stake Wade's team to a 32-23 lead.
When Marion took a nifty bounce pass in the lane from former Phoenix teammate Marcus Banks and dunked with 8:17 left in the half, Wade's team led 42-28 - their biggest edge in any game since leading Utah by 16 points on Dec. 22.
But of course, in this Wade's team season, prosperity didn't last.
Smith scored 13 points in a 4-minute span after Marion's dunk, and Carmelo's team were within 63-57 at the half.
In the third, they caught up. A 15-2 period-ending run gave Denver an 84-78 lead entering the fourth, and after Smith's 3-pointer with 8:20 left in regulation, Carmelo's team didn't trail again.
"He's a streak shooter," Wade said. "He got on a streak."
