Heat 114, Cavaliers 107
MIAMI -- The hot-shooting Miami Heat defeated the hot-tempered Cleveland Cavailers 114-107 on Saturday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.
The Heat shot 70 percent from the floor in the first quarter and was still at 60 percent at halftime.
Miami cooled off in the second half as their 19-point lead was erased. In fact, with 8:03 left in the fourth quarter, Cleveland took its first lead after halftime at 93-91 on a short jumper by guard Jarrett Jack.
But the Heat responded with an 11-1 run down the stretch to put the game away. The Heat finished at 55 percent from the field.
Heat forward LeBron James had a game-high 25 points to go with nine rebounds, nine assists and four steals. Miami guard Dwyane Wade had 24 points and Heat forward Chris Bosh added 22 points and 11 rebounds.
Cleveland's temper tantrum came early. Cavs coach Mike Brown was ejected with 3:14 left in the second quarter and Cleveland trailing 55-45. He was apparently upset that no foul was called when Cavs forward Alonzo Gee had his layup attempt blocked by Heat forward Shane Battier.
Cleveland had its three-game win streak snapped. Still, after a poor 4-12 start, the Cavs have gone 5-2.
The Heat, on the other hand, have not played that well lately. Despite the win, they are just 3-3 in their past six games.
Miami had its highest scoring first quarter of the season and its highest scoring first half. The Heat led 35-29 after the first quarter as James had 13 points and Wade added 10. There were 10 lead changes in the first quarter.
Cleveland, which shot 50 percent from the field in the quarter, hit four of its five 3-pointers, including two of two by Cavs guard Kyrie Irving.
The Heat grabbed control with an 18-3 second-quarter run and took a 68-52 lead into halftime. Wade led all scorers in the first half with 20 points for his best opening-two quarters of the season.
Perhaps the odd highlight of the second quarter came when Miami's Chris "Birdman" Andersen made his first 3-pointer of the season. He entered the game just 4 of 26 from beyond the arc for his career.
The Cavaliers outscored the Heat 28-16 in the third quarter and entered the fourth trailing 84-80.
NOTES: Heat F Michael Beasley (hamstring injury) missed his fourth straight game. ... Houston Rockets C Omar Asik is expected to be traded within the next week, but the Cavaliers have denied interest in a deal that would send away F Anderson Varejao. ... Cavaliers C Tyler Zeller, who is averaging 7.3 minutes, sprained his ankle in Saturday's warm-ups and missed the game. ... Cavaliers F Anthony Bennett, the NBA's No. 1 overall pick this year, failed to score in double figures in his first 18 games, shooting just 26.6 percent from the field. ... Up next, the Cavaliers start a two-game homestand Tuesday against Portland. ... The Heat play their second of a five-game home stretch on Monday against Utah.
