• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

James burns former team; Heat win 8th in a row

Nov 28, 2013 - 5:02 AM Cleveland, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - LeBron James had 28 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, and the Miami Heat stretched their winning streak to eight games Wednesday with a 95-84 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Dwyane Wade added 22 points for the Heat and Michael Beasley scored 17 off the bench.

The Heat have also won eight straight games over the Cavaliers and are 11-1 against them since James left Cleveland for Miami after the 2009-10 season.

They will remain in the Cleveland area for Thanksgiving dinner at James' home on Thursday.

Dion Waiters scored 24 points to lead the Cavaliers, who have lost four in a row and seven of their last eight. Kyrie Irving had 16 points and Earl Clark scored 13 in the loss.

James said he's heard it "less and less" from Cavaliers fans since the first time he returned to play in the city he spurned professionally when he joined the Heat as a free agent.

"For us, and for me, coming here with a focus of trying to get a win on the road is the main thing and we were able to do that," said James.

The Heat led by seven at halftime behind 12 points apiece from James and Wade. Late in the third quarter, James knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key, then made 1-of-2 free throws after he was fouled on a fast-break layup he missed, pushing Miami's advantage to 68-53.

It was 70-60 going into the fourth quarter and got as low as eight points when Waiters hit a 3 for the Cavaliers, but there were under two minutes remaining and Cleveland never really threatened.

"We had a few defensive breakdowns that gave them that lead and they kind of ran away with it and kept us (at a) distance," said Irving. "We just couldn't get over that hump."

Earlier, Clark scored five points during a 12-1 Cavaliers run in the first quarter, capping it with a 3 from the left corner for a 22-15 lead. They were up 28-22 going into the second.

The Heat used a 12-0 run spanning the first and second quarters to take a 32-28 lead. They went up by as many as 10 later in the quarter and took a 49-42 advantage into halftime after a James fast-break dunk and 3-point play on back-to-back possessions.

Game Notes

The Heat are at Toronto on Friday and the Cavaliers are at Boston ... Miami hasn't lost since Nov. 9 to Boston ... The Cavaliers haven't beaten the Heat since March 29, 2011, in James' second game back in Cleveland ... The Heat ended last season on an eight-game winning streak.