DALLAS (AP) -Minutes into the fourth quarter of Josh Howard's second game back from an ankle injury - and his second game in two nights - Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle figured his versatile small forward was on the bench for good.

Then came word from one of his assistants: ``Josh is OK to go back in. He wants to go back in if you need him.'

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Uh, yeah.

Howard provided several solid minutes down the stretch, then was in perfect position to draw a charging foul with 2.3 seconds left, preserving a 98-96 victory over the Miami Heat on Wednesday night.

``Putting him back in there was a bonus for us,' Carlisle said. ``And then he went in and had a key rebound and took the charge which was the biggest play of the game. Josh the last two nights has really given us something extra, which we really need right now. We are in OK position playoff wise, but we have nothing sewn up yet, so it is huge.'

Dallas pulled out a second straight win and its 10th in 11 home games since the All-Star break. The Mavs own the eighth seed in the Western Conference but are hoping to move up, especially with three of the next four games at home - and with Howard back in the lineup.

He did a little bit of everything in this game, with 20 points, eight rebounds, three steals, two blocks and two assists.

``We know that he is a great all-around player for us and that's what we've missed the last couple of weeks,' said Dirk Nowitzki, who scored 30 points.

Howard said his ankle hurt ``big time' after playing back-to-back games following an 11-game layoff. And, on the game-saving play, he landed on his left wrist, which also has bothered him this season. Slipping a gaudy piece of jewelry over the wrist, he smiled and said, ``This watch is making it feel a lot better.'

On the flip side, Miami can only feel worse thinking about what might've been in those final moments after rookie Mario Chalmers snatched a rebound with a few seconds left and the Heat down only one point.

He could've passed to Dwyane Wade. Or he could've called timeout. Instead, he rammed into Howard.

``There was a lot of miscommunication going on,' said Wade, who had 23 points and six assists.

``It was in between calling timeout, but we also had numbers. Some people wanted to call timeout, some others thought we had numbers, and they called an offensive foul. Tough call at that time. It went fast. If we could do it over it'd be different.'

The Mavericks won their 10th straight regular-season game against the Heat, who were down 0-2 in the 2006 finals before winning four straight over Dallas to claim the title.

Miami is fifth in the East but lost for the fourth time in five games.

At Boston, Ray Allen made a 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left in the second overtime to lift the Celtics into second place in the East.

The Bobcats, fighting for the final playoff spot in the conference, blew leads in the last 30 seconds of the fourth quarter and both overtimes and fell 1 1/2 games behind Chicago.

At Milwaukee, Kobe Bryant hit his first seven shots and scored 30 points, and Pau Gasol had eight of his 15 in the fourth quarter for the Lakers.

Ramon Sessions had his first career triple-double for the Bucks, who fell four games out of the East's final playoff spot. Sessions finished with 16 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds.

At Orlando, Fla., Chris Bosh had 24 points, including a 22-footer over Dwight Howard with 29 seconds left that put the game out of reach, and Toronto extended its season-high winning streak to five.

Howard had 30 points and nine rebounds for Orlando, which fell percentage points behind Boston for second place in the East.

At Phoenix, Steve Nash had 25 points and 17 assists, and the Suns won their season-best sixth straight at home to remain four games behind Dallas for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West.

Ron Artest scored 28 for the Rockets, who dropped to fourth in the crowded scramble for playoff positioning in the conference.

At Los Angeles, Chris Paul had 30 points and 14 assists, David West added 19 points, and New Orleans moved within a game of first-place San Antonio in the Southwest Division.

Eric Gordon scored 25 points and Zach Randolph added 24 for the Clippers, who lost their ninth straight to New Orleans.

At East Rutherford, N.J., Devin Harris had 19 points and 11 assists, and the Nets snapped a season-high, five-game losing streak.

Richard Hamilton scored 29 points for the Pistons, who were playing their fourth game in five nights.

At Oakland, Calif., Monta Ellis scored a career-high 42 points to overcome Kevin Martin's career-best 50, and Golden State snapped a five-game losing streak in another wild game befitting the NBA's two worst defensive teams.

At Memphis, Tenn., Rudy Gay scored 25 points and Mike Conley added 22 to lead the Grizzlies to their first home win since the All-Star break.

Caron Butler scored 31 points and Antawn Jamison had 28 points and 10 rebounds for Washington.