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Heat thump Hawks behind LeBron's 43

Mar 19, 2011 - 3:02 AM Atlanta, GA (Sports Network) - LeBron James scored 23 of his 43 points in the third quarter as the Heat handled the Hawks, 106-85, at Philips Arena.

Chris Bosh posted 17 points and 10 rebounds while Dwyane Wade added 14 points and five assists for Miami, which has won four of five. James Jones contributed nine points in a reserve role.

Mike Bibby, who spent parts of four seasons with Atlanta before joining the Heat as a free agent earlier this month, finished with two points on 1-of-5 from the field and dished out six assists.

Bibby was traded to the Wizards near the trade deadline and agreed to a contract buyout after playing in two games for Washington.

Marvin Williams paced the Hawks with 15 points in a reserve role while Damien Wilkins added 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field. Jeff Teague scored 13 with six assists and Josh Smith and Al Horford supplied 11 and 10 points, respectively, in the loss.

"Any time we take it on the chin like that is tough," Wilkins said. "I was fortunate to go out there and get some minutes, but at the end of the day we lost, and lost in a major way."

Atlanta has dropped consecutive games and is 2-2 on a six-game homestand.

Miami took a 50-37 lead into the half and put the game away in the third quarter.

Wade's three-pointer 2 1/2 minutes in put the Heat up 56-41. The basket also started an 20-1 run the featured five Miami three-pointers.

After a Teague jumper with 4:24 remaining, Wade added another three to put Miami's lead at 76-44 and James scored eight of the Heat's final 10 points, putting their lead at 86-57 entering the final stanza.

"That was one of the more enjoyable quarters I have had," James said regarding his third quarter performance. "The fact that we were playing on both ends of the court was key."

All 10 starters but Bosh watched from the bench in the fourth quarter as Miami ran out the clock.

James paced the Heat with 13 points on 6-of-6 from the field as Miami held a 25-21 lead after one.

The Heat scored the second quarter's first seven points, and after a James three-pointer with 5 1/2 remaining their lead reached 43-26. The Hawks marginally cut their deficit down the stretch, and a 1-of-2 showing from the line by Joe Johnson in the final seconds cut it to 50-37 at the half.

Miami shot 57.6 percent from the field in the first half and made 9-of-12 from the line. James reached the 20-point mark in the opening 24 minutes, shooting 8-of-8 from the field -- 2-of-2 from long range -- and making both free throws he attempted.

Game Notes

James eclipsed the 17,000-point mark for his career in the win. He now has 17,012 points...The Heat made 11-of-22 from beyond the arc and 19-of-26 from the line...Miami held a 50-27 rebounding advantage.