Trail Blazers 108, Heat 107
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Forward Chris Bosh's 3-pointer with .5 of a second remaining lifted the Miami Heat to a 108-107 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night at the Moda Center.
Bosh scored a season-high 37 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Heat (23-7), who played with injured forward LeBron James.
Portland had a final chance to win, but forward LaMarcus Aldridge missed a short jumper after a lob pass at the rim as time expired.
Guard Wesley Matthews scored 18 of his team-high 23 points for the Trail Blazers (24-6), who lost for only the third time at home this season. Aldridge added 22 points and seven boards for the Blazers.
Down by four points at the half, Miami seized its first lead since early in the game at 71-69 after forward Rashard Lewis' 3-point shot with 6:19 left in the third quarter. The lead was 75-71 when the Blazers went on a 15-4 tear to go in front 86-79. They took an 88-83 advantage into the fourth quarter.
Portland led until Bosh drained a shot from beyond the arc to tie the score at 96 with four minutes to play. The teams traded baskets before another Bosh 3-pointer pushed Miami on top 101-98 with 1:58 left.
Aldridge sank two free throws to close the gap to 101-90 with 1:44 remaining. Bosh's tip-in made it 103-100 with 1:20 to go, but Aldridge converted a left-handed layup and it was 103-102 with a minute left.
Forward Nicolas Batum was fouled by Miami guard Dwyane Wade on a 3-point attempt, and his three free throws gave Portland a 105-103 lead with 32 seconds to play. Wade then scored on a thunderous dunk to tie it at 105-105 with 26.2 seconds on the clock.
After a timeout, Portland guard Damian Lillard lost the ball on a drive, but Batum picked it up and was fouled with 7.7 seconds remaining. He made two free throws and Miami called timeout, trailing 107-105.
The Trail Blazers led 62-58 at halftime in a shootout that saw the Heat fire at a 57.1 percent clip from the field but still trail at the break. Portland shot 45.4 percent from the field and 47.4 percent (9 of 19) on 3-point attempts.
Matthews and Lillard combined for 33 points in the half, making 12 of 17 shots from the field between them, including 8 of 12 from 3-point range.
Bosh had 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor for the Heat.
Miami sank its first six shots from the field, led by eight points early and was ahead 24-17 with five minutes left in the first quarter.
The Blazers, who stayed close by knocking down 4 of 5 3-point shots early, used a 7-0 run to tie it at 24. At that point, Portland was 10 of 12 from the field and Miami 10 of 14.
The Blazers took a 34-30 lead into the second quarter and extended it to 43-34 three minutes into the quarter. At that point, they were shooting 73.9 percent (17 of 23) from the field.
Miami crept back to within 57-56, but the Blazers used three free throws in the final nine seconds of the half to go into intermission ahead by four.
NOTES: F LeBron James, who suffered a 107groin injury during Miami's 108-103 loss at Sacramento on Friday night, warmed up but was unable to go. Also sitting out for Miami was Chris Andersen (back), though coach Erik Spoelstra said the veteran forward is "getting better." G Dwyane Wade and G Ray Allen both played after missing Friday's loss at Sacramento with knee problems. ... The Heat's loss at Sacramento -- they led by 17 points in the first quarter and were ahead for most of regulation -- left them glad for the challenge of playing the team with the league's best record. "That's the beauty of the NBA," Spoelstra said. "You have such a bad taste in your mouth after a game like that. It was tough for all of us to sleep. All you want to do is get back out there and compete again. And then to have a game like this -- that's what our guys cherish. Our guys like the big-game feel in tough arenas. (The Moda Center) is a great crowd, great atmosphere on a Saturday night -- there's nothing else we'd rather be doing." ... It was a meeting between two of the NBA's premier offensive teams. Portland ranked first in scoring and free-throw percentage and second in 3-point percentage. Miami was first in field-goal percentage, sixth in scoring and ninth in 3-point percentage.
