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Heat roll over Raptors

Apr 19, 2012 - 3:09 AM Miami, FL (Sports Network) - LeBron James netted a game-high 28 points and pulled down five rebounds in just three quarters of action as the Miami Heat rolled over the Toronto Raptors, 96-72, at American Airlines Arena on Wednesday.

Mike Miller scored 13 points off the bench and Udonis Haslem added 10 points and seven rebounds for the Heat, who have won four straight contests.

"I was just playing the game and taking the shots that were there," James said. "I was in a good groove offensively. The ball was moving and I was the recipient of good offense tonight. I was able to make some shots."

James Johnson paced the Raptors with 18 points and six rebounds, Alan Anderson had 15 points and DeMar DeRozan finished with 12 points for Toronto, which has lost six of its last eight games.

Both teams remained close during a tightly played first quarter in which the Raptors led by as many as five and the Heat by as many as two. Shane Battier drained a deep three-pointer with 11.7 seconds left in the frame to give Miami a 25-24 lead after one quarter.

Trailing by one early in the second quarter, the Raptors used a 12-4 flurry to grab a 39-32 advantage with 5:19 to go in the second quarter.

The Heat, though, answered with an 11-3 run of their own, capped by a Haslem slam, to take a 43-42 edge.

The Raptors stayed close and a layup by Gary Forbes tied it at 49 before James finished the first half with a dunk at the buzzer to give Miami a 51-49 lead at halftime.

Miami broke the game open in the third quarter and extended their lead to double digits for the first time with a 14-6 flurry to make it 65-55 with just over five minutes left in the quarter.

The Heat outscored Toronto 23-11 in the third and James led the way with 12 points in the frame as Miami took a comfortable 74-60 lead into the fourth.

With James on the bench in the fourth, the Heat were on cruise control and a 25-foot three-pointer by Miller pushed the lead to 20, 82-62, and Miami never looked back.

"We had some trouble scoring in the second half," Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said. "I thought we did a decent job of moving the ball in the second half and I liked our fight, but for us to get where we want to, I told our guys we have to have a fight for 48 minutes."

Game Notes

James shot 12-of-15 from the floor and the Heat as a team shot 52 percent, while the Raptors shot 41 percent...Mario Chalmers added nine points and seven assists for the Heat...Miami dominated in the paint, outscoring Toronto 50-36 inside...Toronto converted 16 Miami turnovers into 20 points.