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James, Cavaliers put away the Heat

Feb 10, 2007 - 6:17 AM CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- LeBron James had a subpar game the last time he played against his friend Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat. It was a different story this time.

James scored 29 points, grabbed seven rebounds and handed out six assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers blew out the Heat, 103-79.

Larry Hughes scored 16 points and Sasha Pavlovic added 15 off the bench for Cleveland, which lost, 92-89, to Miami on February 1.

James scored just 17 points on 6-of-18 shooting in that contest while struggling with a toe injury. He also had to watch Wade score a season-high 41 points.

"We gave it up down in Miami," Hughes said. We didn't make solid plays."

James, who was just named to his third All-Star game, connected on 12-of-22 from the floor in this one as the Cavaliers won for just the third time in their last 10 games against the Heat.

"I love getting the ball up and down the court, getting an opportunity to shoot some shots early in the shot clock," James said. "It fuels our defense."

Drew Gooden scored 10 points and hauled in 13 rebounds for Cleveland, which bested Miami in rebounds (+12), assists (+10) and fast-break points (+ 8).

"I wouldn't say it was a statement game, but I thought we played basketball the right way tonight," Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said.

"In the categories of effort and hustle, we just got our butts whipped," Heat interim coach Ron Rothstein said.

Wade scored 27 points and dished out seven assists and Shaquille O'Neal had 14 and seven rebounds for Miami, which had a five-game winning streak snapped. Wade also committed seven turnovers.

"It was a sluggish game for us," Wade said. "I don't know why. Today we were stagnant and didn't make the cuts that we normally make. All of us were a little slow and Cleveland took advantage of it."

Jason Kapono had 10 points and Udonis Haslem added nine and nine rebounds for the Heat, who shot 43 percent (31-of-73) and have lost three straight vs. the Cavaliers here.