Cavaliers-Heat Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
Posted Nov 24 2012 12:21AM

For the first time, LeBron James will be facing his former team as an NBA champion.

James has never lost a game in his new home to the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers and will try to help the Miami Heat improve to 6-0 at AmericanAirlines Arena on Saturday night.

The acrimonious departure two seasons ago of Cleveland's top overall pick in 2003 will always be notable in the career of James, who finally added his name to the list of great NBA champions last season with his play during the Heat's run to the title.

Wearing the mantle of champion is a new burden for James. He and Miami (9-3) showed signs of difficulty in handling that challenge Wednesday in blowing an 18-point lead before hanging on for a 113-106 overtime home victory over Milwaukee.

"Guys get up to play us and we understand that," James said. "Guys are in this league for a reason."

Cleveland (3-9) could be up for this game as it tries for its first win in five tries in Miami. James has only been needed to average 21.8 points in four previous home meetings against his former club, with the Heat prevailing each time thanks to the depth of talent surrounding him.

The Cavaliers, however, travel to South Beach without the services of Kyrie Irving, who has replaced James as the face of the franchise after being drafted first overall in 2011. Irving is out with a broken finger.

Jeremy Pargo picked up the slack in Cleveland's first game without Irving with a season-high 28 points in Wednesday's 92-83 victory over Philadelphia. Pargo was held to 15 two nights later as the Cavs dropped their sixth straight on the road, 108-104 to Orlando.

Cleveland allowed Orlando to shoot 50.0 percent. Opponents are shooting an Eastern Conference-high 49.0 percent against the Cavs.

"Again, we allowed another team to shoot a high percentage tonight, and those guys shot the ball pretty well," coach Byron Scott said.

Led by James, Miami leads the NBA at 49.2 percent from the floor.

One positive Friday for the Cavs was the 25 points from Dion Waiters, who is second among all rookies with a 14.8 scoring average. Waiters has totaled 11 assists in the two contests without Irving for his best two-game stretch.

Anderson Varejao had 19 points and 17 boards for his third straight double-double as he gets ready to bang inside with Heat big man Udonis Haslem.

Haslem became Miami's all-time franchise leader in rebounding Wednesday. He surpassed Alonzo Mourning with 4,814 boards.

"Words can't really describe what I feel right now, just coming from where I came from, going through the situation that I had to go through, being undrafted, going to Europe, I had to fight to make the team," Haslem said.

The Heat continue to get excellent production from Chris Bosh, who had 24 points and 18 boards Wednesday. He's averaging 20.0 points - his highest in three seasons with Miami.

Miami's 5-0 start at home is its best in team history.

Heat escape Cavs with late rally, 110-108

By TIM REYNOLDS
Posted Nov 24 2012 11:43PM

MIAMI (AP) Down by seven points with less than 2 minutes left, LeBron James' current team was in big trouble against his former team.

That is, until the Miami Heat saved their very best for the very end.

James found Ray Allen for the go-ahead 3-pointer with 18.2 seconds left, highlighting a nine-point run to end the game and lift the Heat to a 110-108 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night.

Miami held the lead for just 2 minutes, 29 seconds. Cleveland led 108-101 with 1:58 remaining, before the reigning NBA champions found a way to stay perfect at home.

"It speaks to the competitive will that the guys have at the end of close games," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We have a lot of gamers in that locker room. They rise to the occasion. They want situations like that. That can be dangerous, as well."

James finished with 30 points for the Heat. Chris Bosh scored 23 points, Dwyane Wade added 18 and Allen finished with 17 - 15 in the fourth quarter - for the Heat, who lost Shane Battier in the third quarter to a sprained right knee.

Of the nine Cleveland players who logged minutes, everyone but Tyler Zeller scored at least 10 points. Jeremy Pargo and Dion Waiters each scored 16 for Cleveland, which got 15 from Omri Casspi, 13 from Tristan Thompson, 12 from Alonzo Gee, 11 from Gibson, a 10-point, 15-rebound night from Anderson Varejao, and 10 more points from CJ Miles.

The Cavaliers were 14 for 31 from 3-point range, forced 18 turnovers and turned them into 22 points, led by 13 points in the third quarter - and still fell to 1-7 against Miami since James' infamous decision to leave Cleveland and join the Heat in July 2010.

"Tough loss," Varejao said. "We had control of the whole game and at the end we gave away easy layups and we didn't play smart on offense and we lost the game."

After Allen's 3-pointer, Cleveland had a good look at the lead, but Wade blocked Pargo's jumper with 3 seconds left.

"I liked my chances to at least make it a tough shot," Wade said.

Allen added one free throw to stretch the lead to two, and when he missed the second try, Cleveland controlled the rebound with 0.6 seconds left, but never got anything near the rim.

"Our guys showed a lot of guts, but it's just the little things that are killing us, the little things that are killing us especially at the end," Cavs coach Byron Scott said. "We just haven't figured it out yet and we did a couple of bonehead things towards the end of the game."

Cleveland controlled virtually the entire game, and led by eight midway through the fourth. James and Allen made consecutive 3-pointers to start a Heat flurry, and a free throw by Wade with 3:09 left tied it at 101-all.

But Varejao tipped in a rebound on the next Cleveland trip, Waiters hit two free throws after a clear-path foul against Mario Chalmers, and the Cavs seemed to have all but sealed it on a 3-pointer by Gibson for a 108-101 edge.

The Cavs were thrilled.

It was temporary, as the Heat found a way to survive and move to 6-0 at home. The biggest 3 of the night was the one that Allen hit late, after he and James - who also teamed up on what became an Allen four-point play to lift Miami over Denver earlier this month - were in synch again.

"I'm able to be the Tom Brady of the play all the time," James said. "For some reason, it ends up in my hand and I find Ray. Big-time shot."

Allen said he's not surprised that he and James are already clicking.

"He's a great passer," Allen said. "He attacks throughout the whole game. Me, what I've been doing, I'm just trying to read him."

The second quarter could be summed up by one stat-sheet disparity: While Miami was 5 for 13 from the floor in the period, Cleveland was 6 for 13 - from 3-point range alone.

Sure enough, 3s were wild for the Cavs in the first half.

Casspi's beat-the-clock try from beyond the arc gave Cleveland a 29-26 lead after one quarter, and the Cavs just kept firing. Cleveland held the lead for the entire second quarter, stretching it to 59-48 at the break after an 8-0 run - fueled by 3s from Casspi and Pargo. The Cavs were 10 of 19 from beyond the arc in the half.

And even when the Heat remembered to defend the 3, the plan backfired.

Wade fouled Gee behind the stripe with 9:48 left in the third, Gee connected on all three free throws, and Cleveland held a 65-53 lead - then its largest of the night. The lead was still 12 when the Heat made their first big run, scoring 11 straight to get within 68-67 when Battier made a 3-pointer from the left corner.

But on the next Cleveland possession, Battier landed awkwardly while defending at the rim, remained down for a few moments, then awkwardly ran into the Miami locker room. A team spokesman said Battier felt much better after the game.

So did all his teammates.

"We need to get out of here as quickly as we can, before they put more time on the clock," Spoelstra said.

NOTES: Miami entered the night having allowed the third-most 3-point tries in the NBA this season, behind only Denver and Houston, teams that had each played one more game than the Heat. ... Injured Cavs G Kyrie Irving was on the court about an hour before the game, doing some work and greeting Battier - a fellow Duke product. ... Miami debuted its "White Hot" uniforms, one of several outfits the Heat will don for various games this season. ... Former NFL star Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson, who spent most of his career with the Dallas Cowboys, sat courtside.

Notebook: Heat 110, Cavaliers 108

Zachary Paul, for NBA.com
Posted Sat Nov 24, 2012 10:54 PM - Updated Sat Nov 24, 2012 10:54 PM

THE FACTS: The Miami Heat defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 110-108 Friday at AmericanAirlines Arena.

After trailing most of the game, the Heat took the lead for good when guard Ray Allen hit a 3-pointer with 18.2 seconds remaining. Trailing by two, the Cavs had a chance to force overtime. Guard Jeremy Pargo drove the lane, but his shot was blocked by the Heat's Dwyane Wade. LeBron James led the Heat with 30 points and six rebounds while center Chris Bosh added 23 points and seven rebounds. Wade finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

The Heat needed a 33-point fourth quarter, including 15 points by Allen, to overcome the hot-shooting Cavs. Cleveland shot 44 percent from the field but made 14 of 31 from the 3-point arc. The Cavs had eight players in double-figures, led by Pargo and Dion Waiters, who each scored 16 points.

QUOTABLE: "First of all, Cleveland played a very good basketball game. They did enough to put themselves in position to win ... Our guys absolutely relish those moments in the fourth quarter, the competitiveness of a close game. We need to get out of here quick as we can before they put more seconds on the clock." -- Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

THE STAT: The Heat shot 52 percent from the field and 47 percent from the 3-point arc.

TURNING POINT: Trailing 108-101 with 1:58, the Heat scored the game's final nine points

HOT: The Cavs nearly pulled off the upset behind their 3-point shooting. Six different players made baskets from the arc. Reserve Omri Casspi shot 4-of-4 from the 3-point line.

NOT: The backcourt of Pargo and Waiters shot just 9 of 27 from the field. Their 3-point shooting was able to offset the poor shooting performance. Waiters and Pargo have trouble against Heat defenders Mario Chalmers and Wade.

GOOD MOVE: After Daniel Gibson's 3-pointer gave the Cavs a seven-point lead with less than two minutes remaining, the Heat remained on the attack. James scored a quick basket that kept the Cavs on their heels and served as the beginning of the game-winning run.

BAD MOVE: The Cavs became too dependent on the 3-point shot. With momentum shifting, there were a few questionable attempts from the arc. The misses ultimately led to the Heat climbing back into the game.

NOTABLE: Shane Battier left the game in the fourth quarter with a knee strain. ... Cavs guard Kyrie Irving missed his third straight game with a broken finger. He is expected to miss a month. ... The Heat have won four straight and seven of eight against the Cavs. ... Miami is now 6-0 at home. ... Heat forward Bosh surpassed the 13,000-point plateau.

UP NEXT: For the Heat, Thursday vs. Spurs, Saturday vs. Nets, Dec. 4 @ Wizards. For the Cavs, Monday @ Grizzlies, Tuesday vs. Suns, Friday @ Hawks.

• Cavaliers: Harangody, Irving
• Heat: Harrellson, Harris

• Cavaliers: --
• Heat: --

• Lead Changes: 3
• Times Tied: 7

• Arena: American Airlines Arena, Miami, FL
• Officials: #71 Rodney Mott, #6 Tony Brown, #44 Eli Roe
• Attendance: 20064
• Duration: 2:30