Heat Record their 4th with 15-0 Run to Thump Pistons 100-94

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Dwyane Wade scored 24 points and Chris Bosh added 23 to help the Miami Heat rally for a 100-94 win over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.

LeBron James had 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for Miami, which has won six of seven following a five-game losing streak.

The Heat trailed by 11 late in the third quarter before Mike Miller made a 3-pointer in the final seconds. Miami then scored the first 15 points of the fourth to take an 88-81 lead.

Detroit had the ball down by four in the final minute, but Greg Monroe missed a layup, forcing the Pistons to foul.

Richard Hamilton led Detroit with 27 points.

Hamilton made back-to-back 3-pointers from the same spot in the left corner late in the third to give the Pistons a 78-70 lead. Mike Bibby appeared to answer with a 3-pointer of his own with the shot clock running out, but the Miami guard's shot ended up being disallowed between quarters.

Detroit led 81-73 after three, but went scoreless until Tracy McGrady made a shot from the top of the key with 6:25 left in the game.

Detroit committed two defensive 3-second violations in the first 1:13 of the fourth, and when James Jones made a 3-pointer and James added a left-handed layup, the Heat had an 82-81 advantage — their first lead since 8-7.

Rodney Stuckey fired up the crowd a bit with a one-handed dunk on a drive through the lane for Detroit, but James did him one better shortly after that, throwing down an emphatic right-handed dunk off a pass from Wade to make it 94-85.
In his previous game at Detroit, James made news by taking a heckler to task early in Miami's win over the Pistons. The focus was on the court this time, and although James wasn't at his best, the Heat had enough offensive balance to pull through once they started shutting down Detroit early in the final quarter.

Bibby made his first start for Miami in his 11th game with the team, scoring five points. The Heat are without guard Mario Chalmers (sprained right knee) and center Zydrunas Ilgauskas (right foot infection).

Miller finished with 13 points for Miami.

Monroe had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Pistons, while Tayshaun Prince added 13 points and Chris Wilcox scored 10.

Bosh scores 30, the Heat roll Spurs 110-80

MIAMI - The Miami Heat was in the inversion symmetry.

Lose 30 San Antonio, winning 30 in Miami.

Chris Bosh scored 30 points and 12 rebounds, Dwyane Wade scored 29 and the Miami Heat avenged their worst loss of the season by rolling over the NBA-leading Spurs 110-80 on Monday night.

"It 's really huge for us, just to get even with this team," said Bosh. "They beat us pretty good, and I'm glad we were able to make a perfect game today. But at the same time is only a game."

LeBron James finished with 21 points, eight assists and six rebounds and the Heat, who have won three straight and moved two games in the Eastern Conference of the pioneers in Boston and Chicago.

Miami lost 125-95 at San Antonio on March 4, the midpoint of a five-game slide that now seems almost forgotten after the victories over the Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, and now the Spurs.

"Sometimes when you get the results we have and who have this extreme noise from the outside, which can be a distraction if you let it," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. "But in terms of types confidence, never wavered. This is a very confident group. But the consistency that we had in the last three games is something we can build."

It was the Spurs' biggest regular-season loss since April 7, 2005, a 104-68 defeat to Dallas.

Tony Parker scored 18 points and Tim Duncan added 14 for the Spurs, who won 15 of their last 18 against Miami. Before Monday, the worst loss in San Antonio this season was a 96-72 defeat to New Orleans.

And he has been instrumental in the scoring column: Miami outrebounded the Spurs 47-33 and shot 54 percent in San Antonio 38.

"We did a lot of shots in San Antonio and have done a lot of shots," said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, whose team suffered its third lowest total score is the fifth-worst shooting effort of the season. "What goes around comes around."

According to STATS LLC, is only the second time in NBA history that two clubs had two series win once with 30 or more. The second event came last season as Dallas beat New York 50 to Madison Square Garden, then lost at home to the Knicks with 34 nearly two months later.

Add San Antonio 123-101 loss to Orlando on Dec. 23, and the Spurs two trips to the Sunshine State this season were the losses by a combined 52 points.

Mario Chalmers scored 11 for Miami. Manu Ginobili finished with 12 and Antonio McDyess scored 10 for the Spurs.

"They needed the game more than us," said Ginobili. "They were more shocked than us, and are a good team. We're not playing for second division in Asia. We're talking about the Heat."

When the teams met a week and a half ago, it was more after one quarter. San Antonio ran an advance of 36-12, eight 3-pointers in the first quarter alone en route to a franchise-record 17 connections beyond the arc.

Funny how things even out: In Miami, the Spurs were able to get very little out of the paint in the fall. They finished 6 for 22, 3.

San Antonio shot just 6 of 25 from the field in the first half, 1 of 9 in the second quarter and the Heat held the Spurs to their fourth lowest output during the first 24 minutes of a game this season. The driver of the Heat was 49-39 at halftime, with Bosh and Wade combined for 31 points and 12 rebounds along the road.

Meanwhile, Duncan and remove McDyess - 9 and 13 combined in the middle - and the Spurs were downright devastating offensive. Together, their comrades fired nine of 33 in the first two quarters.

"They definitely had a lot of energy," Parker said the heat. "But all in all, they just played better than us."

The Spurs are things going in the third, particularly Parker, who hit June 5 shots and scored 14 in the period.

But the result was never in doubt. Wade took James for a dunk with 10:14 left, then uttered a joyous cry the way back to the other end. It was a cry of longer duration 17 seconds later, after stealing the ball to Steve Novak and calls for a dunk of his own that led to Miami 87-67 edge.

Bosh fires Heat to Win over Lakers

MIAMI (Reuters) - Chris Bosh strengthened to help the Miami Heat star to a five-game series with a 94-88 victory over two-time NBA champion to defend the Lakers in Los Angeles on Thursday.

Bosh, who had complained about his limited role in the team's offense during the Depression led to 24 points and nine rebounds for Miami as the leader of south-east heat to secure playoff berth.

"I was aggressive coming to the ball, but were uninterested left me," said Bosh. "I was not playing. I just wanted to focus on going hard."

When the game tied 88-88, Miami, Dwyane Wade had the ball in Kobe Bryant and LeBron James has sent a clear undisputed embed with 1:27 still, that the Heat ahead for good.

"It was an opportunity to really just keep our composure and execute down the stretch, stopping when the pressure was on the game when the pressure is on," said Bosh.

"It 's been there during the last three minutes. I think our mind and psyche, it was very important."

Wade added another field goal and James secured the victory with two free throws with 19 seconds at the end of the Lakers sequence of eight consecutive victories.

"We must move forward," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.

"The most important thing to go through a stretch like that, men are not close. The kids want to do this work. The more we are, the more convinced that we will succeed.

"But it's a game we're not on the mound. We still need to improve and improve."

Very low score in the third quarter, the Lakers have threatened to take command of the race game 9-0 to create a game high six-point lead, but the heat stopped their momentum and lead shaved to two points going to the previous quarter.

"I think they (Miami) can play better than them," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "I hope to see later this year."

Bosh made 27 points - Heat outdoes Hawks

MIAMI – LeBron James' new fan base in Miami had a response.
So did his teammates.

Chris Bosh scored 27 points, Dwyane Wade added 26 and the Miami Heat scored 11 straight points in the final minutes to beat the Atlanta Hawks 89-77 on Saturday night — winning their fourth straight to move a season-high five games over .500.

"It's just a better feel in the locker room, away from the game, but also on the basketball court," Wade said. "We're starting to 'get it' with each other. ... It's making a world of difference."

James was quiet offensively for much of the second half, and it didn't matter. He finished with 22 points, and got serenaded by "Miami loves you!" chants — a nod to the "Akron hates you!" cries James heard when Miami visited Cleveland for the first time since he scorned the Cavaliers and joined the Heat in July.

Wade and Bosh did their part to keep the Hawks at bay, and then the reigning two-time MVP got his first field goal of the second half with 2:52 remaining — a fierce slam, followed by a scream, all giving Miami an 81-72 lead. Mario Chalmers hit an off-balance jumper with 1:38 left, the lead was back to 11, and Miami survived.

"We're figuring it out," James said. "We're figuring out what it takes for us three to be successful, and to have the team win."

Wade and Bosh each had 10 rebounds for the Heat (13-8), whose lead was cut to two at 74-72 with 4:39 remaining. Atlanta then missed its next six shots and Miami ran away.

"They're a tough team," Hawks coach Larry Drew said. "Anytime you have three guys that can potentially be 20-plus every night, you got your hands full."

Only a week ago, the Heat were reeling, calling a 40-minute players-only meeting after a loss in Dallas sent a team with championship aspirations to 9-8.

Four straight wins later, that all seems a distant memory.

Bosh’s season-high 35 lift Heat past Suns, 123-96

Bosh scored a season-high 35 points before sitting out the fourth quarter, LeBron James finished with 20 points and the Miami Heat ran away from the Suns 123-96 on Wednesday.
“We’re smart,” Bosh said. “And we know how to play the correct way.”

Dwyane Wade(notes) added 17 points, six rebounds and six assists for Miami, which used two big runs—a 24-9 spurt to end the first half, followed by an 18-3 flurry that closed the third quarter—to snap the Suns’ three-game winning streak. James also had nine assists and eight boards, but deferred afterward to Bosh’s breakout night.

“I think he was due—well overdue—for one of these games,” James said.

Eddie House scored 15 points and Carlos Arroyo added 10 for Miami, which enjoyed its biggest win over Phoenix in nearly 14 years and held Suns point guard Steve Nash to an uncharacteristically low two assists.

“Well, we weren’t necessarily expecting that result,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We just wanted to focus on our game, our energy and really having a defensive edge to us again. That’s one of the most challenging teams to defend.”

The top criticisms of the Heat this season, in no particular order, had been how they struggled against big-time point guards, how they couldn’t seem to put teams away and that Bosh’s numbers had taken a hit as he adjusted to his new role in Miami.

None of those issues were issues against the Suns.

“They just outplayed us the entire game,” Nash said. “We only have ourselves to blame. We didn’t play hard. We didn’t play with enough aggressiveness or urgency and I think it showed.”

Slowed by a sore groin, Nash scored 17 points for Phoenix. But the last time he had only two assists was Dec. 29, 2008, against Oklahoma City, 141 games ago. And Wednesday marked only the ninth time in 737 games where Nash played at least 29 minutes and failed to get more than two assists, according to STATS LLC.

“I kind of took a little risk,” said Nash, who may consider sitting out Thursday in Orlando. “It didn’t feel great, but I don’t think I did serious damage to it.”

Controlling Nash, who came in averaging 12 assists in his last five games, was a huge point of emphasis for the Heat. In Miami’s four losses this season, opposing point guards—Rajon Rondo twice, Deron Williams and Chris Paul — averaged 16.5 assists per game.

Grant Hill scored 15 for Phoenix, which also got 14 from Channing Frye , 11 from Jason Richardson and Goran Dragic , and 10 from Hedo Turkoglu . The Suns were outrebounded 42-32.

Bosh started quickly—not a surprise given his recent history against Phoenix.

“When CB comes out as aggressive as he was, I think that helps us a lot,” James said.

He hit his first four shots and had 14 points by the time the game was 9 minutes old. He has topped 30 points in three of his last six meetings with Phoenix—yet oddly, hadn’t been part of a win over the Suns since Feb. 10, 2004.

By the time Bosh went to the bench for the evening, snapping that streak was certain.
“We just never came close to guarding Bosh tonight,” Suns coach Alvin Gentry said.

Miami wasted a 22-point home lead at home against Utah last week, and for a moment in the third quarter, the Heat seemed on the brink of blowing another huge edge. Phoenix frustrated Miami briefly with zone defense and Nash’s finger-roll with 3:14 left in the third cut what had been a 25-point Miami edge minutes earlier to 82-70.

Some anxiety pulsed through the building.

No need.

“We didn’t panic,” Bosh said. “We didn’t get out of place or anything. We just continued to play solid basketball.”

Bosh scored the game’s next seven points, kickstarting a run that put things away for Miami.
Reserve House hit a 3-pointer with 35 seconds left to get the lead back to 24, and Wade had a spectacular three-point play—defensive rebound at one end, drive downcourt, finger-roll layup while getting fouled and then highstepping past photographers—to make it 100-73 entering the fourth.

Need a Resuscitator?

Chris Bosh has shrunken from a center to a power forward to a small forward in just a matter of weeks, and at this rate, will soon be able to look Muggsy Bogues in the kneecaps.
Erik Spoelstra doesn't have the guts, or the resume, to tell the Big Three what to do, or how to do it.

LeBron James left his better talents (as in teammates) in Cleveland.

Dwyane Wade prefers Robin to LeBron's Batman and it's hurting his swag.

Pat Riley is now busy rummaging through his closet, searching for an Armani that'll look good on the bench.

Leave anything out? Have we covered all or most of the issues preventing the Heat, to paraphrase the LeBron commercial, from being who you want them to be?

Everything we just mentioned as a degree of merit to it here in mid-November, a time for panic in Miami, . Bosh is looking softer than your grandmother's touch, averaging six rebounds and appearing timid and afraid. You can't imagine Spoelstra ripping into his team, let alone his best players.

LeBron doesn't have an Anderson Varejao or Mo Williams on the Heat. Wade is terribly inconsistent as he plays the "my turn, your turn" game with LeBron. (We're just kidding about Riley mulling a return, but check back next month if Miami's staring at .500 in the standings.)

Everybody's overreacting, to a degree. The season's too early to draw any concrete conclusions about Miami. But there's one very legitimate concern that won't flare up until spring, when the Miami season matters most, and it is this:

Will the grind of doing-it-all eventually wear down LeBron and Wade, just in time for the playoffs?

It's not just the minutes, which LeBron alluded to a few days ago (and as you might expect, the public took his comments as a swipe toward Spoelstra). It's the multi-tasking. LeBron is playing nearly 38 minutes a night, 35 for Wade, which is normal for them, but heightened once you factor in the stress of playing almost every position on the floor and defending the other team's best players. Because there's such a massive gap between the talent level of LeBron/Wade and everyone else, Miami is leaning heavily on two players to do it all. Big minutes, plus big responsibility, equals lots of tread wear.

Heat's Atrocious Debut

Playing under Boston's 17 championship banners, the Miami Heat team set together to win its own NBA title couldn't win its first game, as the new Big Three lost to the old Big Three of the Celtics, 88-80 on Tuesday night.

James scored 31 points, but the other members of the trio struggled. Dwyane Wade was limited to 13 points on 4-of-16 shooting and Chris Bosh added eight points and eight rebounds. They combined for 15 of the Heat's 17 turnovers — eight by James, six by Wade and one by Bosh.

Ray Allen led Boston with 20 points, Pierce scored 19 and Kevin Garnett had 10 points and 10 rebounds. Those three joined together in 2007 and led the Celtics to the NBA title that season.

Boston led 45-30 at halftime, but Miami cut that to 63-57 after the third quarter behind James' 15 points in that period. A layup by James made it 83-80 with 1:10 left in the game. But Boston, which once led by 19, got the last five points on a 3-pointer by Allen and two free throws by Pierce.

Boston led 16-9 after one quarter, the first time since March 15, 2009, at the Philadelphia 76ers that the Heat scored nine points or fewer in a period. The last time James' Cavaliers scored nine or fewer points in a quarter was February 2, 2007, when they managed nine in the second against the Chicago Bulls.

Things got so bad for the Heat in the first half that Shaquille O'Neal, a notoriously poor free throw shooter, made the first two he tried as a Celtic. That boosted the lead to 41-22 with 2:13 left in the second quarter.

Miami then got a brief burst, scoring six straight points to make it 41-28. The last basket in that surge was a dunk by James on a backward pass from Eddie House, whose steal started their 2-on-none break.

That drew cheers from two Heat fans — one wearing a T-shirt with James' name on the back and the other with a jersey bearing Wade's name — but a fan wearing a green Celtics T-shirt, yelled, "He's supposed to do that. That is not impressive."

It was pretty impressive, considering how poorly the Heat shot in the first half against a quick, aggressive Celtics defense.

Miami missed 30 of its 41 shots, a paltry 26.8 percent. Boston went 17 for 38 (44.7 percent).
The Celtics lost Pierce with 4:32 left in the third period when he hit the floor and hurt his back as he was charged with a blocking foul on James, who made two shots and cut the lead to 55-45. Pierce returned with 10:43 left in the game with Boston ahead 64-57.

James came back to the building where he lost the last game of his Cleveland career in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. He then became a free agent after seven seasons with the Cavaliers and signed with the Heat.

That also was O'Neal's last game there, also with Cleveland. He was back in a Celtics uniform Tuesday and had nine points and seven rebounds in 18 minutes.

Miami Heat’s Championship DNA?

Not everyone will consent with their methods, a four-part series — Inside the Heat: Championship DNA probably won’t endear them to the masses in places like Boston, Chicago, Orlando or even Los Angeles.

But their sheer disdain for any reasonable limit to the expectations they’ve placed on themselves is both refreshing and frightening at the same time.

They’ve already created a cottage industry out of their own hype — ESPN.com’s “Heat Index” launched Monday and it’s only a small piece of the massive coverage plan various media outlets have in store for this team.

Some people would argue that touting your “Championship DNA” in October is wildly presumptuous.

I’m having a hard time reconciling the words of both Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, each of whom has tried to cover the expectations in recent weeks by claiming that the hype, and the subsequent backlash, surrounding this team is media generated as opposed to an inside job.

That’s nonsense.

These guys didn’t have any problem embracing the hype in July, so don’t pass off the responsibility for it all now. There’s nothing wrong with chasing championships. I don’t think anyone, not even their biggest critics, and begrudge them for that.

It’s just that there seems to be so much sizzle riding the back, at least for now, of so little substance.