Cavaliers-Heat Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Feb 06 2012 9:57PM

LeBron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers in shambles after signing with the Miami Heat in the summer of 2010.

While the Cavaliers still have a long ways to go before they're again one of the top teams in the league, they seem to be headed in the right direction with rookie Kyrie Irving leading the way.

Coming off a win over the defending champions, visiting Cleveland looks for its momentum to carry over against James and the Heat on Tuesday night.

After finishing with an Eastern Conference-worst 19 wins last season following James' departure, the Cavaliers (9-13) surprisingly find themselves in ninth place in the East - one-half game behind eighth-place Milwaukee.

Much of Cleveland's improvement is due in large part to Irving, who was selected No. 1 overall in June's draft. Averaging a team-high 18.1 points, the 19-year-old leads all first-year players in scoring and field-goal percentage (50.0 percent) and ranks second with 5.0 assists per game.

"He's a very good young player ...," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "He'll be a foundation piece for more than a decade for sure."

Carlisle wasn't short on praise for Irving after watching him lead the Cavaliers to a 91-88 win over the Mavericks on Saturday. Irving had 20 points - including a clutch layup with 15.8 seconds to go to help seal the victory.

"I just feel my teammates' confidence going down the stretch," said Irving, who six days prior made the game-winning layup with 2.6 seconds left in an 88-87 win at Boston.

"They continue to give me the ball and they have the confidence in me to make the right play for myself and for them. Once you have that confidence, it's easy going into the fourth quarter."

With a 5-8 record as the visiting team, the Cavaliers are just two victories away from matching last season's win total on the road. Inching closer to that accomplishment, though, could prove difficult versus Miami.

The Southeast Division-leading Heat (18-6) have been nearly unbeatable at home, with their only losses 100-92 to Atlanta on Jan. 2 and 91-82 to the Bucks on Jan. 22.

Since that loss to Milwaukee, Miami has won a season-best five straight on its own court - most recently holding on to defeat Toronto 95-89 on Sunday.

"We came into (the) game knowing we wouldn't be able to take any shortcuts and it would be a work game," coach Erik Spoelstra, whose team improved to 11-2 at home, told the league's official site. "We would have to work the game for 48 minutes. We knew we would face a lot of zone ... We will take this win and move on."

Ranking second in the league with 29.2 points per game while shooting what would be a career-best 55.2 percent from the floor, James scored 30 and grabbed nine rebounds versus the Raptors.

While James' efforts have resulted in plenty of MVP conversation, he's isn't concerned about bringing home any hardware.

"Every time I go on the basketball court I try to be the MVP for our team," he said. "I try to lead - that's how I've always tried to carry myself to that standard of being the MVP every time I go on the court."

James also downplayed the significance of facing his former team again. He scored a hard-fought 18 points on 8-of-21 shooting in a 92-85 win over the Cavaliers on Jan. 24 as the Heat improved to 4-1 versus Cleveland since James joined them.

"It's not as big as it was last year of course. Each game it kind of goes away," he said. "But it's always fun going against your old teammates."

James won't get to square off against Daniel Gibson, who will miss his fifth straight game with discomfort in his neck. He is averaging 7.1 points off the bench.

Wade's 26 helps Heat top Cavs, 107-91

By TIM REYNOLDS
Posted Feb 07 2012 11:12PM

MIAMI (AP) One stingy defensive stretch was enough to carry the Miami Heat past LeBron James' former team once again.

Might have gotten the Heat prepped for a daunting road stretch as well.

Dwyane Wade scored 26 points, James added 24 and the Heat said farewell to their home floor for nearly two weeks by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 107-91 on Tuesday night. Miami's lead was only a point late in the third quarter, before the Cavaliers missed 17 of their next 19 shots and the Heat finally pulled away.

"It was definitely going to be necessary," James said of the late defensive push, one that ensured Miami would beat Cleveland for the fifth time in six meetings since the two-time MVP left the Cavaliers for the Heat. "And that's how we want to close out games."

Chris Bosh finished with 15 points for the Heat, who have won 11 of their last 13 games and stayed within a game of Chicago in the Eastern Conference race, both teams tied in the loss column with six. Mario Chalmers and Udonis Haslem each scored 14 for Miami, which starts a stretch of five road games in seven nights at Orlando on Wednesday, then caps the six-game trip with a visit to Cleveland on Feb. 17.

The Heat are 19-6, the best 25-game start in team history.

"We just had to grind it out, grind it out - until it was our time to pull away," Wade said.

Antawn Jamison scored 25 points and had nine rebounds for Cleveland, which got 17 from Alonzo Gee, and 16 points, six rebounds and six assists from Kyrie Irving. Anderson Varejao had 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who were outscored 29-19 in the fourth and got a 4 for 23 shooting night from their reserves.

"I thought we competed," Cavaliers coach Byron Scott said. "I thought our starters played pretty well. Our second unit just couldn't make baskets, couldn't throw anything in the ocean. You're not going to win a lot of games when you're not get any contributions but again a lot of it had to do with the injuries. I'm not trying to make any excuse. You've got to give them a lot of credit. They're a good basketball team."

Facing a number of injury issues, Cleveland had only 11 players in uniform for the game. Daniel Gibson (neck infection), Tristan Thompson (sprained left ankle) and Anthony Parker (strained lower back) were not with the club, and earlier this week the team waived Mychel Thompson - who had started the Cavs' last three games and scored six points in their win over Dallas on Saturday.

Short-handed or not, the Cavs gave the Heat all they wanted - just as they did in Miami two weeks ago.

Jamison had 20 points in the first half, his best opening half since March 6, 2010. And whenever it seemed like Miami was about to take off on a run, like when it had a quick 15-8 lead early or a 43-33 edge midway through the second quarter, Cleveland had an answer.

That trend continued in the third.

"We did a good job," Varejao said, "until the fourth quarter."

An 18-9 run by the Cavs to open the second half gave them a 66-63 edge, before the Heat put together a pair of quick bursts - dunks by James punctuating both. He capped a 9-2 run by catching a long pass from Haslem in transition for a five-point lead, and after Cleveland clawed back within one, Chalmers hit a 3-pointer and James followed a missed layup by Battier with a one-handed slam for a 78-72 edge entering the fourth.

With that, Miami had taken Cleveland's best shot.

"That team is improved, they play hard and they compete," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "They're a tough team to put away."

Starting with that mini-flurry by Miami to close the third, the Cavaliers were outscored 19-6 over an 8-minute span. Wade made back-to-back hoops to give Miami what was its biggest lead at 92-78 midway through the fourth.

"We were in the game for most of the game," Irving said. "In the fourth quarter I felt that we could make a run but we were just not hitting shots. They weren't falling. It happens."

And now comes the trip that Miami sees as an opportunity.

It's a rare six-game swing around the East for Miami, which starts in Orlando and then goes to Washington, Atlanta, Milwaukee and Indiana, the last three of those in consecutive nights, before wrapping up at the arena James called home for his first seven NBA seasons.

"I was just talking to D-Wade about it. I think it's going to be great," James said. "One thing about us, we love these road trips. They bring us together even more. It's just us. It's the 15 guys, the coaching staff, the training staff and we all come together. It's a big test for us."

Notes: The Heat waived C Mickell Gladness on Tuesday, hours before the deadline for non-guaranteed contracts to become guaranteed. Terrel Harris and Eddy Curry remained with the club, as expected. There's a chance Gladness could return on a 10-day deal, but the Heat are also looking at free agents such as C Joel Przybilla. ... Varejao acknowledged he's a little anxious waiting for Thursday's announcements of the All-Star Game's reserve selections. "I mean, I'm not going to say I'm not. ... If it happens, I'll be really happy," Varejao said. He's got a fan in Spoelstra, who believes Varejao is worthy of the nod. ... Heat F Juwan Howard celebrated his 39th birthday. "Just a number," Howard said. ... Spoelstra, when asked about the possibility of him coaching the East in the All-Star Game: "It's an awesome event for players."

Notebook: Heat 107, Cavaliers 91

Posted Wednesday February 8, 2012 12:09AM

By Shandel Richardson, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: After leading by four points in the fourth quarter, the Miami Heat closed strong to capture a 107-91 victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena.

Heat guard Dwyane Wade led all scorers with 26 points, with most of his production in the fourth quarter. Forward LeBron James finished with 24 points, five rebounds and six assists. Miami led 78-74 before taking control midway through the fourth quarter with a 14-4 run.

The Heat had five players in double-figures, including forward Chris Bosh with 15 points and guard Mario Chalmers and forward Udonis Haslem each scored 14.

The Cavaliers were playing their second straight game against an opponent from last year's NBA Finals. After defeating the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday, they were a quarter from pulling off another upset.

Forward Antawn Jamison led Cleveland with 25 points.

QUOTABLE: "The final score was not indicative about how competitive and close that game was. That team is improved. They play hard, they compete. They're a tough team to put away. We did some things well on both ends of the court, but we did some things to allow them extra possessions to get back into the game."
-- Heat coach Erik Spoelstra

THE STAT: The Heat had 56 points in the paint. James and Wade were able to attack the rim throughout the game, and the Heat were once again effective in transition.

TURNING POINT: As they have so many times this season, the Heat flirted with being upset before making a strong run. This time it came in the form of a 14-4 stretch early in the fourth quarter.

QUOTABLE II: "Again, when you have Daniel Gibson, Anthony Parker and Tristan Thompson missing and then have to make adjustments on our starting unit, it makes a difference. Our second unit just couldn't make a basket -- they shot about 17 percent for the game."
-- Cavs coach Byron Scott

HOT: Wade seems fully recovered from the injuries that have caused him to miss nine games this season. He was 9-for-17 from the field, scoring eight points in the fourth quarter.

NOT: On several occasions, the Heat left open Cavs forward Luke Harangody. It proved to be the right move, with Harangody going just 1-for-9 from the field.

GOOD MOVE: With the Heat struggling, Spoelstra once again went to the small lineup. The Heat have proven effective when Bosh moves to center and is on the court with Haslem, Mike Miler, Wade and James. The lineup sparked the decisive run.

BAD MOVE: The Cavaliers lost track of Chalmers, especially in the second and third quarters. He made them pay for it, knocking down 4 of 9 from 3-point range. It's tough to stop the Heat when Wade, James and Bosh receive that kind of help.

NOTABLE: On Tuesday, the Heat waived center Mickell Gladness. ... Chalmers is 13-for-24 from 3-point range the last four games. ... Scott said Gibson (neck), Thompson (ankle) and Parker (back) are all moving closer to returning.

UP NEXT: For the Heat, Wednesday @ Orlando, Friday @ Washington, Sunday @ Atlanta. For the Cavs, Wednesday vs. L.A. Clippers, Friday vs. Milwaukee, Saturday vs. Philadelphia.

• Cavaliers: Gibson, Parker, Thompson
• Heat: Harris

• Cavaliers: Varejao
• Heat: --

• Lead Changes: 12
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: American Airlines Arena, Miami, FL
• Officials: #41 Ken Mauer, #58 Josh Tiven, #59 Gary Zielinski
• Attendance: 20078
• Duration: 2:16