Cold-Shooting Warriors Unable To Beat Heat
OAKLAND (AP) -- Dwyane Wade had 34 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, LeBron James added 25 points, nine assists and seven rebounds and the Miami Heat won their season-best seventh straight game with a 106-84 victory over the cold-shooting Golden State Warriors on Friday night.
Miami also established a franchise best with seven consecutive wins by double digits, topping the six in a row by double figures in February 1999.
The Heat moved into first place in the Southeast Division for the first time all season after the Orlando Magic lost their season-high fourth straight at Utah.
Monta Ellis had 20 points and seven assists and Dorell Wright, who spent his first six seasons with Miami before joining the Warriors this year, added 12 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in Golden State's season-worst sixth straight loss.
Chris Bosh added 16 points and seven rebounds in the Heat's fifth consecutive win over Golden State, mired in a 1-11 stretch. The Warriors dropped their fifth straight at Oracle Arena after beginning the season 5-0 at home. They haven't won on their own floor since Nov. 15 against Detroit.
Golden State played without do-everything guard Stephen Curry, who could be sidelined for an extended period with a sprained right ankle that he re-aggravated in a 111-94 loss Wednesday at San Antonio. He will be re-evaluated in a couple of days once the swelling goes down.
James, booed regularly by the standing-room-only sellout crowd of 20,036, shot 10 for 18 and scored 15 of his points in the third quarter before sitting out the fourth. He took only 10 shots in the first half for 10 points, but dished out six assists.
Wade, averaging 34 points in his last six games against the Warriors, was 12 for 20 and converted 10 of 13 free throws to help extend the team's longest winning streak since running off nine in a row from March 20-April 7 last season. The Heat earned a fourth straight road win two days after a decisive 111-98 victory at Northwest Division-leading Utah.
Wade took an elbow to the head from Andris Biedrins 52 seconds into the game while defending Ellis on his first points of the night. Wade was down for about a minute before coming to the bench to be examined. He returned at the 8:14 mark.
Miami won for the sixth time in seven games at Oakland but didn't look great in the first half, leading just 48-45 at the break. But the Heat opened the third quarter with an 18-3 run to take control.
Reggie Williams and David Lee each scored 13 points for Golden State, which shot 37.3 percent and went 8 for 24 from 3-point range.
The Warriors hadn't dropped five in a row at home since a six-game skid from March 1-24, 2002.
Golden State's most recent six-game slide occurred from March 2-11, and started with a 110-106 loss at Miami as Wade scored 35 points in the most recent matchup.
NOTES: Wright has double-doubles in four of his last five games. ... The Heat are 4-4 vs. the Western Conference, now 2-3 on the road. ... Wade was averaging 2.33 steals during the winning streak but didn't get one Friday. ... Wade did lead the team in rebounds for the sixth time in eight games and his team-best 10th game overall. ... Miami is 12-2 when forcing 14 or more turnovers. The Warriors had 15. ... Injured 49ers running back Frank Gore, Larry Baer—team president of the World Series champion San Francisco Giants—and super middleweight boxer Andre Ward were among those in attendance. Giants center fielder Andres Torres tossed T-shirts during a fourth-quarter timeout. ... It was the second sellout of the season at Oracle Arena.
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