National Basketball Association
Miami 107, Portland 93
When: 10:30 PM ET, Thursday, March 1, 2012
Where: Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon
Officials:
#75 Eric Dalen, #55 Bill Kennedy, #72 J.T. Orr
Attendance:
20597
By SportsDirect Inc.
HEAT 107, TRAIL BLAZERS 93: LeBron James erupted for 38 points and 11 rebounds and Dwyane Wade added 33 points and 10 assists as Miami cruised past host Portland for its ninth straight victory.
The dynamic duo combined for 41 points in the opening half - just one fewer than the entire Trail Blazers team - to pace the Heat (28-7), who were without All-Star Chris Bosh. The star forward missed the game due to the death of his grandmother.
Udonis Haslem added 11 points and 14 rebounds in a reserve role for Miami, which equaled a season-best mark with nine turnovers.
LaMarcus Aldridge's 20-point performance led the Trail Blazers (18-18), who were overmatched in the opener of a three-game homestand.
Miami led 60-42 after a dominant opening half, and maintained that sizable advantage throughout the third quarter. James provided the highlight of the period, elevating to catch an alley-oop pass over 7-foot Portland center Joel Przybilla before laying it in off the glass.
James reached the 30-point plateau in the final minute of the quarter, and the Heat led 87-69 entering the fourth.
James added a pair of highlight-reel defensive plays in the final quarter, racing back to block a Ray Felton layup attempt and acrobatically intercepting a pass before whipping the ball behind his back to a waiting teammate.
The Blazers closed the gap to 10 with 4 1/2 minutes remaining, but James answered by draining a 3-pointer and the Blazers didn't challenge the rest of the way.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Each of Miami's wins during the streak have been by double digits. ... James and Wade had Miami's first 18 points of the night - a stretch highlighted by a vicious James tomahawk dunk with just over four minutes left in the first quarter that elicited a gasp from the Rose Garden crowd. ... Bosh won't be in the lineup Friday night in Utah but may return in time for Sunday's marquee matchup with the Lakers in Los Angeles. ... James is averaging 38.8 points in his last five games against Portland.
Top Game Performances
Miami |
|
Portland |
LeBron James 38 |
Scoring |
LaMarcus Aldridge 20 |
Dwyane Wade 10 |
Assists |
LaMarcus Aldridge 4 |
Udonis Haslem 14 |
Rebounds |
Marcus Camby 7 |
LeBron James 10 |
Free Throws Made |
Wesley Matthews 5 |
LeBron James 5 |
Steals |
Nicolas Batum 3 |
Joel Anthony 2 |
Blocks |
Nicolas Batum 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Miami
|
107 |
47.6 |
6-11 |
23-29 |
22 |
41 |
5 |
11 |
9 |
Portland
|
93 |
47.4 |
5-16 |
16-19 |
21 |
36 |
6 |
6 |
16 |
Upcoming Games
-
Portland will play their next game at home against Minnesota. The Trail Blazers have a W/L % of .278 after a win and .722 after a loss.
-
Miami will play their next game on the road against Utah. The Heat have a W/L % of .815 after a win and .750 after a loss.