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James, Heat roll over shorthanded Bobcats

Jan 4, 2011 - 9:00 AM Charlotte, NC (Sports Network) - LeBron James finished with 38 points and nine rebounds as the Miami Heat notched their sixth straight victory, topping the Charlotte Bobcats 96-82 at Time Warner Cable Arena.

Dwyane Wade scored 31 and added 11 rebounds for the Heat, who have won 18 of their last 19 games overall and 11 straight on the road. Chris Bosh contributed 11 points and four rebounds in the victory.

Stephen Jackson led the Bobcats with 22 points and five assists. D.J. Augustin added 16 points and Tyrus Thomas had eight points and five rebounds in a reserve role for shorthanded Charlotte, which has lost two in a row.

The Bobcats were without forward Gerald Wallace (ankle) and centers Nazr Mohammed (knee) and DeSagana Diop (right Achilles). Diop will miss the rest of the season after rupturing his right Achilles, whereas timetables for Wallace and Mohammed are unknown.

Up four at halftime, 47-43, Miami started the third on a 14-5 run that lasted until the midpoint of the quarter. The Heat's Big Three scored all 14 points during the run -- Wade had eight, Bosh four and James two -- and Wade capped it with a pair of free throws to make it 61-48.

Augustin responded with a deep three-pointer for Charlotte -- its only one of the quarter -- to cut the Miami lead to 10. However, a James triple began a 17-8 run to end the third.

James scored 15 of the 17 Miami points during the spurt, and the Heat took a 78-59 lead into the final stanza.

The fourth quarter was never in contention as Miami's lead never dipped below 11 down the stretch.

"They kind of took everything away from us the second half," said Bobcats interim head coach Paul Silas. "We didn't execute properly, threw the ball away. LeBron got hot, and that was it."

Jackson led the way with 12 points in the first quarter and Charlotte held a 28-23 advantage after the opening 12 minutes. Wade had 12 points on 5-of-7 from the field in the second, as the Heat took a 47-43 lead at the half.

Game Notes

Charlotte finished a five-game homestand at 2-3...The Bobcats committed 15 turnovers that Miami turned into 26 points...James, Wade and Bosh scored 83 percent of Miami's points... James Jones was the only other Heat player to finish with more than two points -- six on 2-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc.