Wade wins rugged homecoming

Dwyane Wade would rather play anywhere else. He can’t seem to get his game going in Chicago, his hometown.

“Just get it back to Miami,” said Wade, who went to high school in suburban Oak Lawn. “Out in Chicago, I never play good. I have a long career ahead of me, so one day I will get one good game in.”

On Saturday, he scored 13 of his 15 points on free throws and Antoine Walker added 13 points off the bench in the Miami Heat’s 85-84 victory over the Bulls.

Wade who shot 59 percent in his last five games and averaged 34.4 points, shot 1 for 8 from the field and had 10 turnovers, but was 13 for 13 from the line.

Wade and Shaquille O’Neal had to battle through foul problems the entire game.

O’Neal finished with 13 points and five rebounds and Jason Williams added 12 points for Miami, which has won 14 of its last 15 games and four in a row.

Trailing 81-77 with 4:59 left, Wade hit four three throws in a row to get the Heat within 82-81 with 3:59 left. After Andres Nocioni made 1 of 2 on the line, James Posey hit a 3 to give the Heat 84-83 lead with 2:59 left.

Michael Sweetney made 1 of 2 on the line to tie the game at 84, but after an over the back foul on Nocioni, Gary Payton hit 1 of 2 free throws to give the Heat the decisive lead with 2:17 left.

“It was a weird game. There was ugly shooting and a lot of turnovers and mistakes and we were just fortunate to get the win,” O’Neal said. “I should have done better, but it was just a very ugly and weird game.”

Luol Deng scored 19 points, and Kirk Hinrich had 15 points and seven assists for Chicago.

Pistons 108, Bobcats 103: At Charlotte, N.C., Richard Hamilton scored 23 points to help Detroit hold off the Bobcats.

The Pistons went up by as many as 10 points midway through the fourth but couldn’t put the Bobcats away.

Charlotte used an 8-2 run to cut its deficit to 102-98 – getting two pretty dunks from Gerald Wallace in the spurt – but both teams went cold shortly after.

Primoz Brezec led the Bobcats with 20 points.

Nuggets 109, Hornets 94: At New Orleans, Carmelo Anthony scored 28 points and reserve Greg Buckner capped a 19-point performance with a pair of key 3-pointers to help Denver beat the Hornets.

Just as they’ve returned to New Orleans, playing before enthusiastic sellout crowds, the Hornets have ceased to look like a playoff team. The Hornets have lost a season-high eight straight games.

David West had 24 points and eight rebounds for New Orleans.

Spurs 92, Rockets 77: At Houston, Tony Parker scored 23 points and Tim Duncan added 14 to help San Antonio keep pace with Dallas for the best record in the West.

The Spurs recovered from a sluggish start to match the Mavs’ 52-14 record atop the Western Conference. Dallas plays at New Jersey today.

Yao Ming scored 20 points for the Rockets, the 13th straight time he’s reached 20.

Bucks 97, Trail Blazers 93: At Milwaukee, Michael Redd scored 27 of his 33 points in the first half to help the Bucks beat Portland.

Redd was 12 for 21 from the field and 7 for 8 from the free-throw line. Charlie Bell added 14 points for the Bucks.

Darius Miles scored 26 points and Sebastian Telfair had 21 for the Trail Blazers.