Call it fate, or the "breaks of the game" as noted author David Halberstam once wrote, the resurgent Heat seems to be the grateful beneficiary of both lately.

Friday night's wacky 90-88 overtime victory over the Milwaukee Bucks was gift-wrapped by the officials when they failed to whistle Eddie Jones for a blatant traveling violation in the waning seconds of regulation. It enabled Jim Jackson one last crack to gather in the rebound and launch a tying 3-pointer.

"We had a lot of bad bounces in November and December, a lot of them," Heat coach Pat Riley said after Saturday's practice at Target Center. "I can't remember all the situations. They would get a long rebound and make a 3. I remember a lot of that stuff.

"You've got to pursue and finish games. Last night, Jackson got the long rebound and 3. ... You make your own breaks."

It hasn't hurt the 20-29 Heat that during its 12-3 winning stretch, including 7-2 on the road, it has come across teams in slumps that were also missing their star players. They beat the Shaq-less Lakers in Los Angeles and the undersized Knicks without Marcus Camby in New York. They knocked off the Pacers without blossoming rookie point guard Jamaal Tinsley and Friday squeaked past the Bucks with star point guard Sam Cassell nursing a sprained toe.

And tonight, the Heat faces the Timberwolves without their starting point guard Terrell Brandon, who learned Monday that he needs season-ending knee surgery. Get the point?

"Everything goes in full circle," said Jones, who had a season-high seven steals and the game-winning shot in overtime. "Wherever we go it seems like someone's hurt. So what, it happens like that."

Heat forward Brian Grant, who has had four double-double rebound-points outings in the past six games, including Friday's 21-point, 13-rebound effort, is glad that fate is fickle.

"Fate had its turn on us in the beginning of the season," Grant said. "When everyone [else] was healthy, looking at us saying, `what happened?' ... Now fate was on our side -- positive -- we were on the winning side of it."

Riley doesn't remember other teams sympathizing when the Heat went without Grant and Alonzo Mourning for several games. He also recalls plenty of calls that went against the Heat when it was 5-23 out of the gate.

After a frustrating 83-74 loss to the Knicks on Nov. 15, Riley waged a war of words against the officials for what he felt was an inequitable distribution of fouls called against his team. The Heat made 7 of 11, while New York was 21 of 28 from the free-throw line. It cost him a $10,000 fine to make his point.

"Early in the season we were last in the league in free-throw attempts," Riley said. "We were getting outshot every night by 15 to 20 free throws. It was pretty bad. ... It balances itself out on some nights, blown calls or a missed call. Hey, I've been through it."

HOUSE SITTING?

The Heat didn't escape unscathed Friday as guard Eddie House strained his right knee in the fourth quarter and underwent an MRI Saturday. He practiced on a limited basis, and his injured leg appeared quite stiff. Riley said he'll wait for the results of the X-rays before deciding whether to activate point guard Anthony Carter. If not, rookie guard Mike James is available for backup duty.

Passing lane

While it was nice to get out of the Atlantic Division basement for the first time since Thanksgiving, Riley and his disciples certainly weren't gloating about being a half-game ahead of the Knicks.

"Our guys don't want to hear it," Riley said. "It's almost embarrassing for them that it took three months to get out of the cellar."

Jones is more concerned about the teams ahead of the Heat in the playoff race.

"I don't look at the rearview mirror," Jones said. "It says in the rearview mirror that things appear closer than what it seems. I look at what's in front of you, so you have a truer sense of what's what."

Grant is taking nothing for granted.

"One slip and you're right back behind them smelling that exhaust," he said.

The ever-pragmatic Riley realizes there's a long road ahead.

"We've got another four teams to climb over," he said. "We've got to climb over Indiana, Orlando, Charlotte and Philly. We got to get close to those teams before we can actually compete for a playoff spot."