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Williams powers Cavs past Heat

Mar 8, 2009 - 5:29 AM CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- The Cleveland Cavaliers used some Mo-mentum to chill the Miami Heat on Saturday.

Mo Williams scored 12 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter and LeBron James posted his fourth triple-double of the season as the Cavaliers downed the Heat, 99-89.

James finished with 14 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds in a game that featured the top two scorers in the NBA; James is at 28.3 points per game and Dwyane Wade leads at 29.5.

"I've never been a person that wanted the spotlight," Williams said. "I'm happy where I'm at right now. I'm the guy who's behind closed doors and will sneak up on you."

Wade was tossed from the game in the final minute with his second technical foul after not getting a foul call on Anderson Varejao. Miami coach Erik Spoelstra also received a technical on the play.

When asked how he felt when Wade was tossed, James said, "Great!"

Wade, meanwhile was ticked.

"We felt we got some bad calls," Wade said. "Normally, we fight through it. We don't really worry about it, but in a game like this - a very important game for our team - tempers get hot. I felt I got fouled and there was no call, so my temper got hot. I deserved the tech."

The Cavaliers were resilient, rebounding from a loss Friday to the Boston Celtics.

"We've responded great all year long after a loss," Williams said. "Tonight was no different. The mentality of this team is great."

Cleveland was fast first and used a late burst to put away the Heat, who chipped at the deficit throughout but were unable to catch the Cavaliers.

Cleveland scored the first nine points of the game and roared to a 28-14 lead after 12 minutes.

"It ended up being a 10-point game, but I think we spotted them 9-0 to start the game," Spoelstra said. "(The Cavs) came out ready and it seemed like we were kind of pacing, just surveying the tempo of the game instead of really coming after it."

The Heat whittled away at the gap and moved within 82-76 on a layup by Wade with 5:41 left. The Cavaliers then went on a 7-0 run to apparently put the game away at 89-76.

However, the Heat had one last run and were within 91-85 when Wade drove toward the hoop in the final minute. He missed the layup while colliding with Varejao.

Spoelstra was hit with a technical and Wade picked up his second technical of the game on the play for jawing at the ref about the non-call. He left with 25 points on 9-of-23 from the floor and 12 assists.

Williams hit a pair of foul shots to make it 93-85, effectively closing the door on Miami.

"(Our guys) have respected the journey and, along with that, they've respected our opponents," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "When you start circling dates or giving one game more importance than another, that's when you get caught in a tough loss."