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James, Wade, Bosh score 71, Heat down Cavs

Dec 15, 2013 - 5:24 AM Miami, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Miami's big three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh combined for 71 points and the Heat used a big run down the stretch to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 114-107, Saturday night.

James had 25 points, nine rebounds and nine assists against his former team. Wade totaled 24 points, while Bosh chipped in with 22 and 12 rebounds.

Miami, which has won eight straight and 12 of the last 13 against the Cavs, also received 12 points form Ray Allen and 11 from Mario Chalmers.

The Cavaliers, who had a season-high three-game winning streak broken, were up 100-98 following a layup from Dion Waiters and a free throw from Anderson Varejao.

The Heat, though, responded with 11 of the game's next 12 points.

"We're a team that obviously has the ability to take it up a notch," Wade said. "It helps as well because we were at home, but that's the difference between winning and losing."

Kyrie Irving led the Cavaliers with 19 points.

Bosh began Miami's key spurt with a jumper and James then drove in for the go- ahead jump shot after Irving misfired on a 3-point attempt.

The Cavaliers continued to miss shots down the stretch and went without a basket for a period of more than four minutes. The streak was broken when Varejao made a hook shot with 22.5 seconds left, but that only made it a 110-105 contest.

Prior to that, the Heat stretched the lead thanks to some heady play and clutch shooting. James whipped a pass from beyond the 3-point line to Norris Cole for a layup. The run ended with 1:36 left when Chalmers barely beat the shot clock by burying a 3-pointer from the left corner for a 109-101 margin.

Miami built a 35-29 lead after 12 minutes, but the Jarrett Jack's jumper had the Cavaliers within 44-42 with 7:13 left in the half. Wade responded with a layup that began an 18-3 spurt, which was finished by a Bosh layup with just over two minutes remaining.

Cavaliers coach Mike Brown was ejected in the middle of Miami's big run. He was fired up after Shane Battier blocked Alonzo Gee's layup try. Brown was upset a foul wasn't called and he met referee Sean Wright near center court and was ejected from the contest.

A layup from James in the half's waning seconds boosted the margin to 68-52.

Miami was ahead as many as 19 in the third quarter, but the Cavs trimmed that to 84-80 heading into the final 12 minutes.

"Obviously we lost our leader with coach Brown going out, but we pulled together," Irving said. "We were in situations like that before, but this team ... we all believe in one another."

Game Notes

Miami, which has won a franchise-record 16 straight games against Western Conference opponents, host Utah Monday. The record for consecutive wins by Eastern Conference teams over the West is 20, accomplished by the Boston Celtics, Feb. 11, - Nov. 23, 1973 ... Waiters and Tristan Thompson each had 16 points for the Cavs, who have lost seven in a row at Miami ... Allen became the sixth active player with 24,000 points.