Heat 93, Trail Blazers 91: LeBron James capped a 32-point night with a go-ahead bucket with 11.4 seconds left and Chris Bosh swatted away Damian Lillard's attempt to tie it at the buzzer as host Miami held off Portland.
James, who also collected six rebounds, five assists and four steals, drove to his left for a layup to put the Heat back on top after squandering a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter. Bosh, who had 15 points, eight rebounds and four steals, blocked Lillard's potential tying layup to seal it.
Lillard scored 19 points and Mo Williams added 17 off the bench as the Trail Blazers lost for the eighth time in 12 games. Wesley Matthews scored 15 and Nicolas Batum contributed 11 points and 10 rebounds for Portland, which was without All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge (back) for the sixth straight game.
The Heat seemed poised to cruise to an easy victory when they scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to open a 78-61 advantage, but the Trail Blazers quickly clawed back into it with a 9-0 spurt. James converted a three-point play to momentarily thwart the rally and put Miami ahead 89-78 with 4:11 left, but Williams hit a pair of free throws to cap a 13-2 run and pull Portland even at 91.
James scored 17 in the first half as Miami took a 46-42 lead into the break on the strength of a James layup and Ray Allen's 3-pointer to close the half. Bosh scored six points early in the third as the Heat stretched it to 54-45, and the Heat led 72-61 entering the fourth as Portland struggled to find the range from outside.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Miami PF Chris Anderson contributed 13 points and 11 rebounds off the bench. … The Heat improved to 12-7 without SG Dwyane Wade, who sat out with a sore ankle. … Lillard became the 10th player in the NBA to surpass 1,500 points this season.
Portland | Miami | |
Damian Lillard 19 | Scoring | LeBron James 32 |
Damian Lillard 6 | Assists | LeBron James 5 |
Nicolas Batum 10 | Rebounds | Chris Andersen 11 |
Damian Lillard 12 | Free Throws Made | LeBron James 6 |
Damian Lillard 2 | Steals | Chris Bosh 4 |
Will Barton 1 | Blocks | Chris Andersen 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Portland | 91 | 37.8 | 11-39 | 24-27 | 18 | 44 | 2 | 6 | 15 |
Miami | 93 | 44.0 | 5-15 | 14-23 | 16 | 48 | 4 | 14 | 10 |