
The last time San Antonio and Miami met, the Spurs' roster was decimated, as injuries to two of their top three players left them sputtering out of the gate.
Two months later, the Spurs are healthy and playing their best basketball of the season.Southwest Division-leading San Antonio looks to win for the eighth time in nine games Monday when it visits the Heat.
After capturing its seventh division title in 10 years and advancing to the Western Conference finals last season, San Antonio (22-11) got off to a rough start to 2008-09. Manu Ginobili missed the first 12 games while recovering from offseason ankle surgery, and the team lost Tony Parker in the fifth game.
Two days after Parker scored 55 points, he sprained his left ankle 10 minutes into a matchup with the Heat (18-14) on Nov. 7. The Spurs went on to lose 99-83 and opened the season 1-4 - their worst start since going 1-5 in 1996.
San Antonio didn't get Ginobili, Parker and Tim Duncan on the court together until Nov. 28, and it's won 14 of 19 games since to move atop its highly competitive division.
The Spurs have been winning with accuracy from the perimeter, as they lead the NBA in 3-point shooting at 40.6 percent. San Antonio finished 15-of-26 from beyond the arc and matched a franchise record with eight 3-pointers in the first quarter of Saturday's 108-106 win over Philadelphia.
The Spurs squandered an early 21-point lead before Parker grabbed an offensive rebound with 0.9 seconds left and hit a high-arching 15-footer at the buzzer for the victory.
"I was just trying to make sure it got a chance," Parker said. "A chance, you know, with enough air on it. I knew there was not a lot of seconds left. It was just a good shot."
Parker, averaging a team-high 21.5 points, finished with 15 and 10 assists, while Duncan led San Antonio with 26 points on 11-of-15 shooting. Ginobili added 21 points and is averaging 23.0 in his last three games versus Miami.
The Spurs are 9-2 against the Heat with Duncan, Parker and Ginobili all in the lineup.
Miami overcame a 16-point deficit Saturday to beat New Jersey 101-96 in overtime, its biggest comeback victory of the season. The Heat have alternated wins and losses in the last four games after winning their previous four.
Dwyane Wade had another stellar performance Saturday with 29 points and four blocked shots, three of which came in the closing minutes.
"In the second half, Dwyane Wade displayed his dominance again," Nets guard Keyon Dooling said. "He carried them to the mountaintop. He's incredible. He's amazing."
Wade tops the league with 28.8 points a contest and has helped lead Miami to three more wins than it had all of last season. The four-time All-Star had 33 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists against the Spurs in November.