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James' big night helps Miami edge Phoenix

Feb 12, 2014 - 5:27 AM Phoenix, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - LeBron James had 37 points, nine rebounds and five steals and the Miami Heat defeated the Phoenix Suns, 103-97, on Tuesday night.

Chris Bosh added 21 points and eight rebounds for Miami, which has won seven of its last nine games.

Dwyane Wade missed the game due to a migraine headache.

"We played a lot of new lineups tonight, but that's what it's about on the road. You just have to find a way," said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.

Gerald Green netted 26 points, while Goran Dragic tallied 15 points, nine assists and four steals for the Suns, who have dropped three of their last four tilts.

"We had some opportunities. We had some turnovers. We had some defensive lapses. That's enough to be beat by these guys," Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek said.

The Heat led 87-85 midway through the fourth before adding to their lead with a 9-4 spurt. James netted the final seven points of the swing, including a fast-break dunk to cap it and give Miami a 96-89 cushion with 1:13 left.

Green hit a 3-pointer at the other end to cut the gap to four but Miami had the answer. James took the clock down before finding a wide-open Bosh on the right wing with a cross-court pass and he nailed the game-sealing triple to make it 99-92 with 40.9 ticks on the clock.

Earlier, the Suns raced out to a 12-0 start as Miami missed its first five shots from the floor and tallied a pair of turnovers. Dragic and P.J. Tucker nailed 3-pointers during the surge.

Miami, though, scored the final seven points of the frame as James sunk two free throws and drove in for a layup with four seconds on the clock to whittle the gap to 25-22.

James' dunk and layup on consecutive trips down the floor gave the Heat their first lead, 33-32, midway through the second.

Phoenix took a 46-43 advantage into the break.

The game was tied 55-55 before Miami ripped off seven straight points to take its largest lead of the contest to that point. Bosh hit a triple and James threw down a pair of dunks, the latter a thunderous windmill jam in transition for a 62-55 Heat edge.

Miami had not led by more than one prior to that sequence.

Green then netted all eight points during an 8-1 Suns swing to knot the tilt again, 63-63, with 4:42 to go in the third.

Tucker's behind-the-back-wraparound pass around two Heat defenders led to a Markieff Morris dunk right before the buzzer, which gave Phoenix a 74-71 advantage after three.

Game Notes

The Heat scored 24 points off 16 Phoenix turnovers ... Miami shot 47.4 percent (36-of-76) from the floor, while the Suns were 46.1 percent (35-of-76) from the field.