MIAMI -- As the Miami Heat get closer to the playoffs, Jim Jackson gets a little more excited.

Eddie Jones, Alonzo Mourning, Brian Grant, they're all regulars in the post-season. But Jackson is a little more energized as Miami makes its playoff push. He hasn't experienced the adrenaline rush of the playoffs as much as some teammates.

In nine previous NBA seasons, Jackson has made the playoffs just once, in 1999 with Portland. So to Jackson, reaching the playoffs would mean more than just recovering from a disastrous start of the season.

"I want it bad," Jackson said. "When I was in Portland, I played a lot and had an integral part of the Phoenix series and in the Utah series. And it felt good to be in the game, to make plays, to prove that when it comes down to it you can complete the play, you can complete the game.

"It's a big-time added motivation."

It shows. Jackson has scored 41 points in his past two games combined, shooting 64 percent in leading Miami off the bench.

Jackson, signed in mid-December to provide much-needed scoring, has fit nicely into his role of Heat sixth man after starting 17 games in the midst of Miami's struggles.

"He's meant a lot to the team, giving us a huge lift," Mourning said. "I think he's hit three buzzer-beaters for us (in Milwaukee, Seattle and Houston), three crucial games. So that goes without saying."

While Jackson has grown to like his role as the steady scorer off the bench, he wants the opportunity to continue that in the post-season. In his three years at Ohio State, Jackson's reputation was that of a well-rounded, clutch playmaker whom opponents feared down the stretch.

Jackson relishes that role but regrets that he has been able to prove his ability in the post-season just once.

"I've worked hard, extremely hard, at being a complete basketball player, and the time when people really notice that is at crunch time, is in the playoffs when it counts," Jackson said.

Jackson played in 13 games in the 1999 playoffs for the Trail Blazers, averaging 7.3 points and 2.3 rebounds for the Western Conference finalists. Grant was a teammate of Jackson's in Portland and said Jackson could have been valuable on any playoff team.

"It's all about timing and where you're at," Grant said. "You could go and get bounced around to teams where you will never get a chance, no matter what you bring to a team."

Initially, it looked like bad timing again for Jackson when Miami got off to a 5-23 start even with his help. But thanks in large part to Jackson, the Heat just might end up where they intended -- the playoffs.

"I was fortunate in Portland to go to the playoffs and be on a really good team," Jackson said. "Here, we have that same kind of chemistry. Now's the time when you want to be playing your best basketball, so hopefully I'm still getting to that point."