NBA: Wade, Heat beat Bobcats 97-92 to reach playoffs
By MIKE CRANSTON
AP Sports Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Dwyane Wade had 27 points and 10 assists, and the Miami Heat clinched a playoff berth a year after an ugly 15-win season by beating the Charlotte Bobcats 97-92 on Friday night.
Joining the 1968-69 San Diego Rockets as only the second NBA team to reach the playoffs after going 15-67 the season before, the Heat rallied from an early 15-point deficit to snap a two-game losing streak.
Wade, whose injuries derailed last season, made three free throws in the final 19 seconds. Charlotte's Raymond Felton then missed a tying 3-point attempt with 5 seconds left.
Gerald Wallace had 21 points in a damaging loss for the Bobcats, who dropped their second straight to fall two games behind idle Chicago for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.