http://www.startribune.com/511/story/1044774.html Another Friday night, another problem with the rims and another Timberwolves problem defending those rims. One week after adjusting both baskets at Target Center to meet specifications and, as it turned out, suit the Utah Jazz just fine, the Wolves watched workers at American Airlines Arena replace one basket at halftime that wound up to the Heat's liking for the rest of the night in a 105-91 Miami victory. Led by Shaquille O'Neal's 13-for-16 shooting for a season-high 32 points, the Heat made 58.3 percent of its attempts, surpassing the Wolves opponents' high that Utah (57.5 percent) had set seven days earlier. Minnesota's best hope would have been a replacement rim of teacup circumference: The Heat made 20 of 34 shots in the second half, after sinking 22 of 38 in the first. As much as it hurt to have O'Neal and Alonzo Mourning (4-for-5) making shots at a heady percentage, the Wolves ultimately were undone when Miami guard Jason Williams sank nine of his 13 attempts, missing only one of a half-dozen shots in the third quarter and scoring 12 points that had the Heat up 81-69 with 12 minutes left. "At the end of the day, Shaq's going to have the ball in his hand. You try to get him to make some plays," Wolves forward Kevin Garnett said. "Somebody at some point is going to make some other plays on that team. J-Will just so happened to." Williams sank two of his club's four three-pointers in that third quarter as Minnesota's increased second-half focus on O'Neal fueled the old inside-out game for the Heat. "That really stretched us out there and kind of hurt us," coach Randy Wittman said. Garnett, frustrated by what he felt was another uneven performance by the referees, vented a little of it when asked how "old Shaq" compares with the "Shaq of old."Shaq of old? What's the difference," said Garnett, who had 23 points and 11 rebounds. "He was aggressive, he was explosive, he was dominant, so I don't know the difference. "We could have helped [Mark Blount] a little more in the post. He caught the ball in places where I felt he was comfortable, and we never took him out of that comfort zone." The Wolves (27-34), who have lost 11 of their past 12 road games and slipped to 2-7 since the All-Star break, play at Atlanta tonight. Williams finished with 20 points and February pick-up Eddie Jones chipped in 15 points and 11 rebounds. The Heat (32-29) won its fifth in a row, improved to 20-10 at home and improved to 6-2 since guard Dwyane Wade went out because of a dislocated left shoulder more than two weeks ago. Wade, in a sharp maroon velvet jacket, stood around watching like everyone else at halftime as the Wolves, again, had a game delayed by a problem with one or both baskets. Last week, tipoff at Target Center got pushed back about a half-hour when it was discovered that both rims were at the wrong height (one was a little higher than 10 feet, one a little lower). This time, the wait of 20 minutes came after intermission when the rim at the west end of the court got bent down by Miami's fleet of goofy trampoline dunkers. So as multimillion-dollar inspectors in short pants loitered around watching and kibitzing, a new basket was wheeled into place and, yes, measured. The way the first rim had been cocked down, almost at a 45-degree angle, you might have blamed O'Neal. Except that he and the Heat were attacking the other end over the first two quarters, taking a 50-44 lead -- eventually -- into the third quarter. --

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