Heat 105, Bobcats 92
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Dwyane Wade scored 29 points, and LeBron James had 27 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists as the Miami Heat beat the Charlotte Bobcats 105-92 on Wednesday night.
Miami led by as many as 19 points in the first half but had to turn back a Bobcats rally that got them as close as two points in the fourth quarter,.
In a battle of teams heading in opposite directions, the Heat (20-6) has won six in a row and is off to the best start through 26 games in franchise history.
Charlotte (7-20) suffered its 16th straight loss.
The Heat also got 17 points from Mario Chalmers and 14 points from Chris Bosh.
The tone was set immediately as the Heat jumped out to a 9-0 lead two minutes into the game. Chalmers hit a 3-pointer on Miami's first possession, James followed with a fastbreak dunk, Bosh dunked, and James came back with another fastbreak dunk.
Miami went on to lead 27-18 after one quarter, 55-38 at halftime and 78-71 after three quarters.
Charlotte cut the margin to 84-82 on a three-point play by Gerald Henderson with 7:16 remaining. But James hit a 3-pointer on the Heat's next possession, Wade hit two straight jumpers, and Shane Battier hit a 3-pointer to push the lead back to a comfortable margin.
Kemba Walker led the Bobcats with 27 points. Ramon Sessions scored 19, Hakim Warrick 18 and Henderson 14.
Notes: The Heat announced it is sending Dexter Pittman to its Sioux Falls affiliate in the D-League. Coach Erik Spoelstra said he expected the third-year center to spend two to three weeks in Sioux Falls. Pittman had appeared in only four games with the Heat. ... The Bobcats' losing streak started on Nov. 26 in a 114-69 loss at Oklahoma City. The franchise record for consecutive losses is 23 straight, achieved at the end of last season. ... The Bobcats had been idle since losing at Denver 110-88 on Saturday night, the final game of a four-game Western trip. ... The Bobcats were without Byron Mullens, who did not suit up because of a sprained left ankle. Mullens had 16 points and 14 rebounds at Denver before going out in the fourth quarter. ... Warrick got his first start of the season in place of Mullens. ... The Bobcats were also without guard Ben Gordon, who had discomfort in his right knee. ...Miami's last loss came at home to Golden State on Dec. 12. ... The Heat beat Oklahoma City 103-97 on Christmas night as James went for 29 points, eight rebounds and nine assists. ... Mike Miller joined the 10,000-point club in the win over Oklahoma City. The Heat now has six players on the roster who have scored at least 10,000 career points. The others are James, Wade, Bosh, Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis. ... James came into the game averaging 25.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 6.9 assists. That's good for fifth in the NBA in scoring, 17th in rebounding, and 10th in assists. ... The Bobcats will play at Brooklyn on Friday and then return home to face New Orleans on Saturday. ... The Heat was starting a four-game road trip on Wednesday night, and will go on to play at Detroit, at Milwaukee and at Orlando. ... Charlotte continues to be without Tyrus Thomas, who hasn't played since the eighth game of the season.
