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OAKLAND (California) - SHAQUILLE O'Neal's 1,00th National Basketball Association game was one he would probably like to forget, just like most of the rest of them this season for the woeful Miami Heat.
The Heat sunk to 4-15 with a 120-113 loss at Golden State on Friday, a day after O'Neal complained he should receive the ball more.
'Shaq' spent the entire fourth quarter on the bench and finished with 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting with 10 rebounds in 21 minutes on the court as Miami became the worst team in the Eastern Conference with a fifth loss in a row.
The Warriors improved to 11-8 with their ninth victory in 10 games and third in a row, making their largest winning comeback of the season with 38 points in the final period with O'Neal and Alonzo Mourning on the bench for the Heat.
Stephen Jackson led the Warriors with 28 points while Baron Davis added 25 as Miami, which led by as many as 18 points in the first half, 17 with 14 minutes remaining and 11 in the fourth quarter, fell apart down the stretch.
Dwyane Wade led Miami with 33 points but went 2-of-6 with seven turnovers in the fourth quarter as the Heat made only three baskets from the field in the final 7:46.
'It's a matter of finishing,' Wade said
Heat coach Pat Riley said he probably should have used O'Neal or Mourning for size on defense late in the game.
'It was a hard loss for us,' Riley said. 'I thought we played extremely well until it was about five minutes to go. I take full responsibility for that. I tried to finish it out with a group that really played their hearts out. It was really a shame.' -- AFP
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