Heat 100, Cavaliers 96: LeBron James poured in 43 points against his former team as visiting Miami held off short-handed Cleveland.
James went 14-of-19 from the floor and scored 31 in the first half and Chris Bosh added 21 points as the Heat snapped a three-game road skid while guard Dwyane Wade rested his sore knees. Ray Allen added 14 off the bench for Miami, which has won 10 straight and 12 of 13 in the series.
Jarrett Jack scored 22 points and Dion Waiters recorded 17 points and 11 assists for his first career double-double for the Cavaliers, who were without their top two scorers with Kyrie Irving (biceps) and Luol Deng (ankle) sidelined. Anderson Varejao tallied 16 points and 11 rebounds in a reserve role as six Cleveland players scored in double figures.
Bosh's 3-pointer with 3:25 left snapped a tie at 88 and put the Heat ahead for good and James scored for the first time in the fourth quarter with a pair of free throws to make it 95-90 with 1:06 left. Jack hit a pair of 3-pointers to get Cleveland within 98-96 but James made four straight at the line to seal it.
The Heat led by 14 after James hit back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the first quarter and again after Allen's 3 with 3:53 left in the period. Cleveland closed the gap with a 9-0 spurt early in the second and pulled even at 40 before Miami pulled back out to a 59-54 advantage at the break.
GAME NOTEBOOK: James' 25 points in the first quarter matched the highest-scoring quarter of his career, which came in the third quarter of his career-high 61-point game against Charlotte earlier this season. … James' 31 first-half points tied the Miami franchise record held by Wade and Sherman Douglas. He was just 2-for-3 from the floor in the second half. … Miami C Greg Oden started and played a season-high 14 minutes, collecting six points, three rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
Miami | Cleveland | |
LeBron James 43 | Scoring | Jarrett Jack 22 |
Mario Chalmers 9 | Assists | Dion Waiters 11 |
Chris Andersen 8 | Rebounds | Anderson Varejao 11 |
LeBron James 9 | Free Throws Made | Tristan Thompson 4 |
Norris Cole 4 | Steals | Anderson Varejao 3 |
LeBron James 3 | Blocks | Alonzo Gee 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Miami | 100 | 45.3 | 12-30 | 20-31 | 22 | 36 | 7 | 10 | 14 |
Cleveland | 96 | 51.4 | 7-22 | 15-22 | 27 | 41 | 5 | 6 | 20 |