Heat is on in second half vs. Wolves

A big Friday night audience came to Target Center for one night only to see the NBA's version of a traveling circus run, leap, dunk and win.

The Miami Heat certainly obliged with seven splendid minutes under the big top that decided its 111-92 victory over the Timberwolves.

Trailing by a point at halftime, the Heat started the second half with a 25-1 run that included the third quarter's first 12 points.

Dwyane Wade dunked four times in a stretch that Wolves forward Kevin Love later described simply with a one-word profanity and that teammate Martell Webster expressed in slightly more evocative terms.

"Like a punch to the kidney," he said. "All I can do is laugh, man, to keep from crying."

It was all over when the Heat turned a 52-51 halftime deficit into a 76-53 lead not that long thereafter.

By then, a ninth consecutive Wolves loss was all but guaranteed.

You might have figured LeBron James and the Heat would be ornery coming out of halftime trailing by a point. After all, they had opened a four-game trip by losing at Cleveland on Tuesday in James' second trip back to the place he once called home.

What are the odds of the Heat losing at Cleveland and Minnesota on the same trip?

How 'bout infinitesimal?

"Everybody knows that, it's not a secret," Tolliver said about the Heat's fury that started the second half. "The reason why they're a great team is they know how to turn it on. If they're not playing well, they know how to take it to the next level."

That next level included the Heat entertaining the crowd with high-flying dunks, whether it was Wade's four almost seemingly in succession in that third quarter or James' conversion of an Eddie House alley-oop pass.

They collided late in the first half when Tolliver went high to successfully contest Wade's alley-oop pass intended for James.

The Collision Part Deux came in the second half when Tolliver fell hard on James, who got up shaking his head at the officials and scowling at Tolliver.

It was Tolliver, you might remember, who seemed to irk James last summer when he spoofed James' "The Decision" television announcement with a Youtube video entitled "The Decision, Part Deux." In the homemade video, Tolliver told the world he would sign with Minnesota.

"The first one, he didn't say anything, he just complained to the referees that he got fouled," Tolliver said of the first-half play. "I don't really care. The second one when I landed on top of him, I don't know why he complained so much, because they called a foul.

"He was just frowning the whole time. It's just basketball and I fouled him, so be it. I guess he's not used to being fouled hard."

Etc. • Wolves assistant Reggie Theus is interested in returning to UNLV as its head coach, but he said it's too soon to know his chances. Lon Kruger announced Friday night he is leaving UNLV to become Oklahoma's new head coach. The Las Vegas Sun named Theus and BYU associate head coach Dave Rice, who also attended UNLV, as early favorites. Theus was a member on Jerry Tarkanian's first Final Four team in Las Vegas, in 1977.