Heat 106, Cavaliers 92: Dwyane Wade scored 32 points on 13-of-18 shooting as Miami easy handled Cleveland to ruin LeBron James’ return to South Beach for the second time this season.

Goran Dragic had 20 points and nine assists and Hassan Whiteside contributed 16 points and 11 rebounds as the Heat moved into a three-way tie for seventh place in the Eastern Conference with the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers. Mario Chalmers scored 16 points and Miami possessed a 45-32 rebounding edge while leading by as many as 25 and controlling the contest.

James scored 16 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and had twice as many turnovers (four) as rebounds (two) as the Cavaliers had a four-game winning streak halted and saw their hold on second place in the East fall to two games over the Toronto Raptors. Kyrie Irving scored 21 points but was just 2-of-7 from 3-point range after being 12-of-13 over the previous two games.

The Heat led 71-46 on Chalmers’ basket with 5:43 left in the third quarter and held an 83-63 lead entering the final quarter before James drained two 3-pointers during a 9-0 surge to pull the Cavaliers within 94-81 with 3:42 remaining. Wade’s driving hoop made it a 14-point margin with 2:11 left and Whiteside’s three-point play made it 104-89 with 58.2 seconds to play and led to James being pulled.

Miami dominated the second quarter and ran off 13 straight points to open up a 17-point lead. The Heat shot 63.9 percent from the field and held a 56-38 halftime lead as Wade scored 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting

GAME NOTEBOOK: Cavaliers PF Kevin Love was held out to rest. … The Heat posted a 101-91 win on Dec. 25 in James’ first trip back to Miami after he won two NBA titles in four seasons before leaving as a free agent last summer. … Cleveland’s 38 first-half points is its lowest of the season.