MIAMI (AP) -- After a month where virtually everything went

right, the Miami Heat caught one last break but didn't take

advantage -- and that allowed the Seattle SuperSonics to knock off

the NBA's hottest team.

Ray Allen scored 35 points and Rashard Lewis added 17 points and

13 rebounds for the SuperSonics, who snapped the Heat's

franchise-record 14-game winning streak Monday night with a 98-96

victory.

"That's one of the best moments in sports -- being able to

silence the crowd," said Allen, who had 11 of his points in the

fourth quarter and was 6-for-10 from 3-point range.

Dwyane Wade had 23 of his 28 points after halftime for Miami,

which fell to 6-6 against teams from the Western Conference.

Shaquille O'Neal had 25 points, 14 rebounds, a season-high seven

blocks and four assists for the Heat, who were outrebounded 46-36.

The loss denied Miami's bid for the NBA's first 15-game winning

streak since O'Neal's Los Angeles Lakers won 19 straight in the

2000 season, helping propel them to the first of their three

consecutive titles.

"I'll take 14 out of 15 any day of the week, any week of the

month, any month of the year, any year of the century," O'Neal

said. "I don't know what comes after century."

Seattle trailed for only six of the game's 48 minutes, yet never

led by more than eight points -- and Lewis gave the Heat a golden

chance to extend the game into overtime.

With the score 98-95, he fouled Miami's Eddie Jones on a 3-point

try with 0.4 seconds remaining. But the Heat guard -- a 78.7 percent

shooter entering the game -- connected on only one of three

free-throw attempts, the last of which he missed intentionally.

"When he missed the first one, I most definitely exhaled,"

Lewis said. "I thought it was a bad call."

Said Jones, who finished with 14 points: "It would have been

better if it went in, but it didn't, so you just need to keep

moving on."

The game was tied four times in the final quarter, the last

being broken on Danny Fortson's free throw with 13.3 seconds

remaining. He missed the second, and Miami got Damon Jones -- who's

made more 3-pointers than anyone in the NBA this season -- an open

look from the right corner.

The shot went long, Christian Laettner's short putback try

rimmed out, and Miami's streak was soon over.

"We lost a game," said Miami forward Udonis Haslem. "We hate

losing any game, but we had a great run and now we've got to put

another one together."

Seattle led 49-43 at halftime -- which wasn't unusual for the

Heat, who've led at intermission in only 10 of 33 games this

season.

Outside of O'Neal, who shot 5-for-7 and had 16 points in the

half, Miami's offense was anemic early. Take away his numbers, and

the Heat managed to shoot just 38.5 percent in the first two

quarters.

Yet this time, Miami couldn't find a way to pull it out at the

end.

"We had to beat a very good team tonight," said Seattle coach

Nate McMillan, whose team won its sixth straight road game. "I

think that is the team we will see come out of the Eastern

Conference."

The SuperSonics got O'Neal in early foul trouble, sending him to

the sideline with two fouls midway through the opening quarter. And

that played a bit of a role in Seattle's 28-17 first-half

rebounding edge; Lewis, who had a double-double (12 points, 10

rebounds) by halftime, and Fortson combined to outrebound the

entire Miami roster by one in the opening 24 minutes.

Fortson finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds for Seattle. And

while lauding Allen and Lewis, Heat coach Stan Van Gundy thought

Fortson was the difference.

"Allen and Lewis, those guys are going to get some points,"

Van Gundy said. "Ray Allen was fabulous tonight. We could have

survived that. But we couldn't survive giving Danny Fortson 15 and

10 and giving them 16 offensive rebounds. I was very disappointed

in our rebounding."Game notes
Seattle has used the same starting lineup in all 29 games

this season. ... Either Allen or Lewis has led the SuperSonics in

scoring in every game but one. ... Miami got to the foul line 37

times, compared to 21 by Seattle. ... Singer-songwriter Bruce

Hornsby was at the game, as were tennis star Andy Roddick, New York

Yankees teammates Derek Jeter and Gary Sheffield, New York Mets

catcher/first baseman Mike Piazza, plus former Lakers star Magic

Johnson -- who sat in the seat usually occupied by Pat Riley, his

coach in Los Angeles.