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Heat top Spurs as James, Bosh lead comeback

Jan 18, 2012 - 4:38 AM Miami, FL (Sports Network) - LeBron James and Chris Bosh combined for 63 points in the absence of Dwyane Wade, and the Miami Heat dominated the second half en route to a 120-98 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday.

Miami trailed by as many as 17 in the second quarter, but made better than 68 percent of its shots in second half, including 12-of-15 from three-point range.

James logged 33 points and 10 assists while Bosh had 30 points, eight rebounds and five helpers in the emphatic comeback.

"LeBron and Chris were brilliant offensively and shouldered a big load," Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said. "In the second half, after we defended and those two guys generated a lot of offense, we were able to execute and trust and the other guys were able to get involved."

Mike Miller was a spark in his first game of the season, hitting all six of his three-point attempts -- five in the fourth quarter -- to chip in 18 points and help halt the Heat's three-game slide.

Danny Green netted 20 points to pace the Spurs, who remained winless on the road (0-5). Tony Parker had 18 points, while Gary Neal and Kawhi Leonard both netted 12 in a losing effort.

Wade turned 30 on Tuesday, but had to watch from the bench as his teammates gave him a birthday present in the form of a comeback win as he rested his sprained right ankle.

James netted all but eight points during a 23-1 run that turned a 12-point deficit into a 10-point lead in the third. The former league MVP drained three from behind the arc during the stretch, including one that concluded the flurry for a 78-68 cushion with 3:28 showing.

"LeBron James was great. He waited for the third quarter to come and he went wild," Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said. "We had no one that stepped up."

Miami led 88-75 entering the fourth thanks to a 39-12 differential in the third.

With James on the bench to start the fourth, Bosh and Miller took over. In a three-possession span, Bosh hit a 17-footer, grabbed a defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast for a two-handed dunk off a spin move at the foul line.

Bosh then drew a double team down low to free up Miller for a three-pointer, resulting in a 100-82 advantage with 8 1/2 minutes to play.

The margin reached as high as 28 down the stretch.

The Spurs controlled the paint in the first quarter, with DeJuan Blair's 12 points helping them outscore the Heat 18-4 down low in the opening frame.

San Antonio's 16-of-24 shooting effort provided a 35-26 lead, and it ballooned to 52-35 on Neal's three-point play late in the half. The visitor led 63-49 at the break.

Game Notes

San Antonio is the only Western Conference team without a road win and had not started a season 0-5 as the guest since 1988-89...Miller had missed the first 12 games with a sports hernia...Mario Chalmers connected on 4-of-6 three- pointers and finished with 13 points for Miami, which scored 27 points off 17 turnovers...Blair only scored one point after the first quarter.