Final
LeBron leads Heat to victory over surging Jazz
Dec 9, 2010 - 5:46 AM Salt Lake City, UT (Sports Network) - LeBron James poured in 33 points, dished out nine assists and pulled down seven rebounds, as the Miami Heat stayed hot with an 111-98 victory over the Utah Jazz from EnergySolutions Arena.Dwyane Wade added 28 points for the Heat, who have won six in a row and seven of eight overall. Zydrunas Ilgauskas tallied 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Chris Bosh donated 14 points and nine boards for the victors.
"Definitely a great team win for us," James said. "Great role win verse a very, very good team. Not only in the Western Conference but the whole league. It was a good team effort by us."
Al Jefferson had 25 points and 11 rebounds to pace the Jazz, who had won eight of nine coming in. Deron Williams chipped in with 21 points and 12 assists for Utah, which got 18 points from Paul Millsap.
Holding an 82-81 lead early in the fourth, Miami put together a 14-2 run to create some distance. James Jones and Wade got the burst started with a pair of three-pointers to give the Heat an 88-81 edge.
Wade made a three-pointer and Mario Chalmers was good on a layup to make it a 94-83 game with 6:36 to play.
Williams' three-point play two minutes later cut the deficit to 96-90, but Miami responded with six straight points. Bosh's short jumper was followed by a pair of baskets from James to make it a 102-90 contest with 2:45 to go.
The Jazz never got closer than eight the rest of the way.
"I don't think we (handled him) at all, he got 33 points, nine assists and seven rebounds," Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan said of James. "He's a great player and it looked like at times we were intimidated by him and Wade. I wish we would have got up and got after him like they were getting after us."
Miami held a 28-27 lead after 12 minutes of action, and took a 56-50 margin into the locker room.
The Heat started the second half on an 8-2 flurry to take a 12-point advantage. Ilgauskas tallied six points during the surge, which Wade capped with a slam for a 64-52 edge.
Utah used an ensuing 12-2 run to get back in the game. Andrei Kirilenko's three-point play cut the deficit to 66-64 with 6:18 left in the third. The Jazz scored the final four points of the period to take a 78-77 lead into the fourth.
Game Notes
The Jazz beat Miami in overtime on November 9...Utah center Kyrylo Fesenko (ankle) missed the game...Utah fell to 3-2 on a six-game homestand, which wraps up on Friday against Orlando...Miami went 9-of-20 from beyond the arc, while the Jazz made 1-of-14 shots from three-point range...Kirilenko had 13 points.
- MIAMI: 111
UTAH: 98
Final
Dec 8 11:22 PM - MIAMI: 77
UTAH: 78
End of 3rd
Dec 8 10:49 PM - MIAMI: 56
UTAH: 50
Halftime
Dec 8 10:09 PM - MIAMI: 28
UTAH: 27
End of 1st
Dec 8 9:34 PM
Related News
- League commissioner Adam Silver wants NBA to return close to normal as possible Jun 16
- Chances of Miami Heat landing Giannis Antetokounmpo could depend on Bucks' playoff success Jun 16
- Miami Heat's Goran Dragic eager for return to the court Jun 15
- Former Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade again speaks out against police brutality Jun 14
- Miami Heat's Bam Adebayo part of group seeking insurance policies before season restarts Jun 14
- Dwyane Wade and LeBron James show support for Dave Chappelle Jun 14
- Heat G League prospect Gabe Vincent earns Most Improved Award Jun 13
- Miami Heat's Udonis Haslem joins LeBron James in group fighting voter suppression Jun 11
- Miami Heat's Kendrick Nunn and Tyler Herro among rookies to watch the remainder of season Jun 11
- Season reboot will mark the first time Miami Heat have been fully healthy since February Jun 10
- The Dwyane Wade-Udonis Haslem bond among strongest in NBA history Jun 9
- Could Udonis Haslem ever work his way into the Miami Heat Mount Rushmore conversation? Jun 8