James Scores 44, Heat Top Blazers In OT
PORTLAND, Ore. (CBS4) -- The Miami Heat were on the ropes Sunday night in Portland. The team was in danger of snapping a 12-game winning streak before the King decided to make sure everyone knew that they were on his court.
LeBron James took over at the end of the game against the TrailBlazers as he nailed two deep 3-point shots and made two free throws in overtime to propel the Heat to victory, 107-100. James ended the night with 44 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists.
Heat guard Dwyane Wade poured in 34 points and eight rebounds. The final member of the Heat's Big Three, Chris Bosh, added 18 points and 8 rebounds to help lead the Heat to the win. The Big Three combined for all but 11 of Miami's points in the game.
"You look at games like this and moments like this and you really understand why we decided to team up and come together," Wade said. "I am a fan of his on the court and I am just glad I get to experience this in the same jersey he wears, instead of being on the other end."
With the victory, the Heat pushed their road winning streak to 13 games and are now just 3 games away from the all-time record road winning streak of 16 straight games. The record is currently held by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers.
The Heat are proving each game that it's never too late in the game to stage a comeback. The team has already won one game with less than a minute to go; and the Sunday night tilt against the TrailBlazers saw the Heat come storming back in the final 2 minutes to push the game into overtime.
The victory pushed the Heat's overall record to 30-9 and the team has won 21 of their last 22 games after starting the season very slowly.
The Heat now lead the Eastern Conference by a half-game over the Boston Celtics. The team also has the second-best win total in the league behind only the San Antonio Spurs. The Heat don't play the Spurs until March.
