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Wade, James help Heat beat Cavs; Cleveland nears infamous record

Feb 1, 2011 - 6:48 AM Miami, FL (Sports Network) - Dwyane Wade poured in 34 points and pulled down seven rebounds, as the Miami Heat dealt the Cleveland Cavaliers their 21st consecutive defeat with a 117-90 victory.

LeBron James added 24 points and eight assists against his former team. Zydrunas Ilgauskas chipped in with 12 points and a season-best 14 rebounds for the Heat, who have won three in a row and four of five overall.

"I think every team that we play we will get their best, it doesn't matter what their record says," James said. "We're a better ball club, and we knew what we were doing wrong. We just had to continue to wear them down."

Antawn Jamison had 21 points and 10 boards to pace the struggling Cavaliers, who are just two games away from tying the 1995-96 Vancouver Grizzlies and 1997-98 Denver Nuggets for the longest losing streak in a single NBA season.

Manny Harris donated 20 points and five rebounds for Cleveland, which has also lost 24 consecutive road games. J.J. Hickson added 14 points and nine boards in defeat.

"I think we have to come out with more intensity and more effort," Harris said.

The Cavaliers, who fell to 3-25 on the road this year, haven't tasted victory since beating New York in overtime on December 18. Cleveland's last win away from Quicken Loans Arena was on November 9 versus New Jersey.

The Heat started the game on a 10-2 run and never looked back. Holding a 29-20 lead late in the first quarter, Miami ended the period on a 6-0 flurry to take a 35-20 margin. James and Wade tallied 11 and 10 points, respectively, over the first 12 minutes.

It was all Wade in the second stanza for the Heat. Wade scored Miami's first five points of the frame, and Mike Miller's trey gave the home team a 43-25 lead with 10 minutes to go.

The Cavaliers got within 45-33 before Wade scored seven straight points to extend Miami's margin to 52-33. Cleveland, though, kept it close with a 9-0 run late in the quarter. The Heat took a 66-57 advantage into the locker room.

Cleveland started the second half on a 10-4 flurry to get within three, 70-67, on Jamison's jumper with 8 1/2 minutes left. But Miami responded with nine unanswered points to take a 79-67 lead on James' jumper with 4 1/2 minutes remaining.

The Heat ended the third on a 10-1 surge to essentially to put the game away. James tallied five points during the stretch, including a layup to make it 89-72 following three periods of play.

Miami led by as many as 33 in the fourth quarter.

Game Notes

Miami has beaten the Cavaliers three times this season. Cleveland is still 9-4 in the past 13 meetings, thanks in large part to James' time in the Forest City, but has dropped 12 of 16 matchups as the guest in this series...The Heat improved to 18-5 at home this season...The Cavs were without guard Daniel Gibson (left quadriceps)...Ramon Sessions tallied 11 points and seven assists in defeat...Chris Bosh tallied 10 points and seven rebounds for Miami.