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Wade faces James as Heat look for sixth straight win

Feb 9, 2007 - 4:29 PM Miami (24-25) at Cleveland (28-21) 8:00 pm EST

CLEVELAND (Ticker) - Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat finally are putting it all together.

Joined by a healthy Shaquille O'Neal, Wade and the Heat will look to extend their season-high winning streak to six games when they face superstar LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday.

With O'Neal healthy after missing 39 games with a knee injury, Miami has put together its best run of the season. But while the superstar center is starting to round into shape, Wade has carried the team throughout the campaign, and it has been no different recently.

Wade is averaging 31.6 points and 8.6 assists during the winning streak. The versatile guard seems to raise his game against James and the Cavaliers, who could not contain him in the last meeting between the teams February 1.

Miami rallied for a 92-89 triumph over Cleveland thanks to a spectacular performance by Wade, who scored 24 of his season-high 41 points in the fourth quarter. Nursing an injured toe, James was not as successful down the stretch, misfiring numerous times, including from the arc with a chance to tie as time expired.

On Wednesday, the Cavaliers were able to win without a stellar performance from James, who made just 4-of-13 shots for 11 points, his second-lowest output of the season. Despite his struggles, Cleveland cruised to a 94-77 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Cavaliers have lost seven of their last nine games against the Heat. However, Cleveland has won the last two matchups at Quicken Loans Arena.