Heat & LeBron Stay Hot, Defeat Blazers 117-104
MIAMI (AP) — It's not the type of streak that LeBron James ever thought about, this run of putting together at least 30 points and 60 percent shooting in six straight games.
Still, it's something he'll savor. He's rolling right now, and so are the Miami Heat.
James scored 30 points on 11 for 15 shooting to get into the NBA record books, Chris Bosh scored 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and the Heat wound up beating the Portland Trail Blazers 117-104 in a wild, momentum-swinging game on Tuesday night.
It was the 1,000th regular-season win in Heat history. But on this night, the only history anyone will remember was what James accomplished.
"I'm at a loss for words," James said in a televised postgame interview. "Like I say over and over, I know the history of the game. I know how many unbelievable players who came through the ranks, who paved the way for me and my teammates. And for me to be in the record books by myself with such a stat — any stat — it's big-time."
Dwyane Wade added 24 points for Miami, which wasted a pair of 14-point leads — then put the game away with a 14-0 run in the final minutes. Ray Allen added 14 for Miami.
Damian Lillard had a game-high 33 points for Portland, which got 29 from LaMarcus Aldridge and 20 from Wesley Matthews.
Just like the Heat, the Blazers also saw a 14-point lead slip away in the game, and then simply got shut down late by a stretch of airtight Miami defense.
"That was typical Miami Heat stuff," Lillard said. "Transition, finishing strong around the rim, and LeBron picking defenses apart."
James has made 66 of his past 92 shots, over the past six games — and is an absurd 60 for 80, or 75 percent, in his last 188 minutes of court time. According to the Heat, only Adrian Dantley and Moses Malone had done the 30-point, 60-percent streak in five straight outings before James joined their club.
Now he stands alone.
"That's why he is who he is," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "The best player in the game."
Added Wade: "Obviously he is doing something that is amazing and special."
And on a night where the teams took turns putting together big runs, it was the Heat who had the last rally — ultimately, the last laugh as well.
With the game tied at 99-all, James drove baseline on former Cleveland teammate Sasha Pavlovic for a two-handed slam that he punctuated with a long scream.
The Heat immediately responded. Matthews made a 3-pointer on the next Portland possession to give the Trail Blazers their last lead. Miami scored the next 14 points, and when James got loose for a dunk with 2:38 remaining, history was his — the first stretch of six straight 30-point games on 60 percent or better shooting in each outing.
"He played a very good basketball game," Spoelstra deadpanned afterward. "That's all you're going to get out of me right now. He competes. He loves to compete. He loves close games. ... And he's leading us, not just with his talent."
Bosh made a jumper with 1:55 left to end the run and seal the win, Miami's sixth straight overall.
Miami next plays Thursday night in Oklahoma City, an NBA Finals rematch before heading into the All-Star break. The Heat topped the Thunder in the first meeting of the clubs this season, winning in Miami on Christmas Day.
"It's a game we'll look forward to," Wade said.
A glance at the halftime boxscore — Portland 59, Miami 58 — would have suggested the opening two quarters were closely contested, back-and-forth basketball.
Not exactly.
There were deep and dramatic shifts in momentum, with James and Aldridge simply taking over play for long stretches in the early going.
Miami started with a flurry, hitting its first seven shots and doing so with James collecting five assists in the game's first 3:52. The Heat led 14-5 after that burst, and were still shooting 75 percent with a minute to go in the opening quarter.
They also were trailing at that point. The Blazers were doing anything they wanted on the offensive end.
"I thought it was a good effort by our team," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "Miami's one of the best if not the best team in the league right now and they are playing at a high level. We matched it for about 44 minutes."
More than matched it for a while, too.
Aldridge went on a personal 13-0 run over a stretch of nearly four minutes midway through the half, single-handedly seeming to turn what was a 29-24 Portland deficit into a 37-29 Portland lead. And another quick burst, this time a 10-1 run by the Blazers, gave the visitors what was their biggest lead, 57-43 with 4:48 left in the half.
Take away Miami's sizzling start, and the Blazers outscored the Heat 52-29 over a huge swath of the first half. Of course, by the break, everything looked just about even. James scored 10 points in a 15-2 Miami run to end the half, and the Blazers' lead was down to a single point at intermission.
It wound up as a 34-12 run by the Heat in all, as Miami rebuilt what became a 14-point lead midway through third.
Predictably, the Blazers came back. Lillard scored nine points in the final 4:36 of the third, and the Miami lead was down to 86-82 entering the fourth after James waited too long to shoot a beat-the-clock 30-footer that went in anyway.
But down the stretch, it was all Miami.
"I thought one of the biggest differences were the 50-50 balls," Lillard said. "A few went their way. And they made us pay.
(TM and © Copyright 2013 The Associated Press)
