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Heat stay hot with rally in second half

Jan 2, 2011 - 4:47 AM Miami, FL (Sports Network) - LeBron James and Dwyane Wade each scored 25, both with 16 in the second half, as the Heat rallied from a 20-point deficit in the second quarter to post a 114-107 win over the Golden State Warriors.

James also had 10 assists and seven rebounds, while Wade ended with eight helpers and six boards, as the Heat won their fifth in a row and 17th in their last 18 tries. Chris Bosh tallied 20 points and 11 rebounds for Miami, which limited the Warriors to 30.2 percent (13-of-43) from the field in the second half.

Dorell Wright, who played for the Heat the first six years of his career, led the way with 30 points for the Warriors. Monta Ellis ended with 25 points and seven assists, but Golden State failed to build on its one-point win at Charlotte on Friday.

The Warriors hit 10 of their first 12 three-point attempts, but ended 13-of-27 from beyond the arc. They wasted a 63.6 percent shooting effort in the first half and couldn't sustain a 72-58 halftime lead.

After an efficient first half, the Warriors shot just 5-of-20 in the third against a relentless Miami defense. Wade's dunk closed a sizeable run, getting Miami within 75-73 with 5:44 left in the quarter. Golden State pushed to a seven-point lead later in the period, but the Heat countered with 14 straight points pushing into the fourth quarter.

"When we came out for the third quarter we knew we were going to make a run and turn it around," Wade said. "We knew what we had to do and we did it."

Juwan Howard's layup in the closing minute had the Heat within 84-83 going to the fourth and Bosh finally put the hosts ahead by sinking two free throws. James Jones followed with a three-pointer, Wade went 1-of-2 at the charity stripe and a layup by Mario Chalmers culminated the stretch for a 91-84 lead just 1:47 into the final period.

The Heat never let go of the advantage with Golden State getting only as close as four at 100-96 with 4:18 to go on a Wright layup. Chalmers countered with a three-pointer and Miami kept Golden State at arm's length by sinking 17-of-24 free throws in the last quarter.

"We knew they were going to make a run. Not only did they make a run but they did it with the clock stopped because of how many foul shots they took," Lee said. "They got more aggressive [on defense]. they trapped off the pick-and- rolls."

Miami's defense, which entered the night allowing 91.9 points, second-least in the NBA, struggled at the outset, especially on the perimeter. Wright had 14 points in the opening quarter, helping the visitors to a 36-28 lead. A three- pointer from Ellis made it a 17-point difference with seven minutes left in the half and a jumper from David Lee expanded the margin to 64-44 with nearly four minutes to go.

"Mentally, we weren't in the game," James said. "We didn't have a lot of energy to start the game. Some of it had to do with us, and some of it had to do with them executing their offense. we just did not have what we usually have on the defensive end."

Game Notes

Wright averaged 7.1 points last season in Miami, but signed with the Warriors as a free agent in July. He had 12 points and 10 rebounds in Golden State's 106-84 home loss to the Heat on December 10...Lee finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Stephen Curry scored 15 in defeat...Jones had 13 points and Carlos Arroyo 11 for the Heat, who have won six straight over the Warriors.