Final
James, Bosh lead Heat past Mavs
Mar 30, 2012 - 3:36 AM Miami, FL (Sports Network) - LeBron James and Chris Bosh both scored 19 points and pulled down nine rebounds as the Heat blew past the Mavericks, 106-85, in a rematch of last year's NBA Finals.Dwyane Wade and Udonis Haslem contributed 16 points apiece while James, playing despite dislocating a finger on Monday against Indiana, handed out five assists and recorded two steals.
Miami snapped a two-game skid in its return home from a three-game road swing.
"You always want to defend your home court. Hopefully this will give us a bit of momentum," said Bosh. "As long as we keep elevating our play day by day, we will be in the right spot come April."
Dirk Nowitzki paced all scorers with 25 points, Lamar Odom finished with 12 and Vince Carter and Brandan Wright supplied 11 apiece for Dallas, which saw a two-game winning streak end in its first trip to Miami since hoisting the championship trophy in the city last June.
The Mavericks made 5-of-11 three-point attempts in the first quarter to take a 29-24 lead after one, but the Miami put on a veritable shooting clinic in the second quarter to take control.
Haslem made all four tries from the field, Norris Cole hit 4-of-5, Wade knocked down 3-of-4 and James converted his lone attempt. In all, the Heat shot an astonishing 75 percent (15-of-20) from the floor in the frame.
By the time the horn sounded on the fist half, the hosts had their largest lead of the game to that point at 60-53.
They went cold in the third, shooting just 21.7 percent, but still managed to win the quarter 20-19 behind a 9-of-10 mark from the charity stripe.
"It was disappointing because our start to the third quarter was strong and then they answered back," said Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle. "When we started, we had some real momentum. It was a tough loss."
Dallas never seriously threatened in the final stanza, trailing by at least seven throughout as Nowitzki missed all five of his shots -- part of an abysmal 15.8 percent clip by the Mavericks -- and the Heat rolled to victory.
Game Notes
Mavericks guard Delonte West played for the first time since breaking a finger on Feb. 15. He finished with seven points in just over eight minutes...Cole scored 10 points while Mario Chalmers had 12 for Miami...The Heat held a 44-29 rebounding advantage and a 46-24 scoring advantage in the paint.
- DALLAS: 85
MIAMI: 106
Final
Mar 29 10:27 PM - DALLAS: 72
MIAMI: 80
End of 3rd
Mar 29 9:49 PM - DALLAS: 53
MIAMI: 60
Halftime
Mar 29 9:00 PM - DALLAS: 29
MIAMI: 24
End of 1st
Mar 29 8:26 PM - DALLAS: 0
MIAMI: 0
1st Quarter - 12:00
Mar 29 8:02 PM - mark The Heat have been luke-warm of late (see what I did there?), but they're still rock solid at home. South Beach will prevail.
Mavericks vs. HeatMar 29 7:17 PM
Related News
- Shaquille O’Neal To Be First To Have Jersey Retired by Magic Jan 4
- LeBron James Has Been At His Best for Many Birthdays Dec 29
- Stats rundown: 3 stats to know from the Dallas Mavericks’ Christmas Day win over the Phoenix Suns, 128-114 Dec 26
- 3 thoughts on a tense 128-114 Christmas win for the Mavericks over the Phoenix Suns Dec 26
- Luka Hits 10,000 Points: How Doncic reached a career Milestone Dec 25
- Mavericks vs Suns Preview: the NBA Christmas Day nightcap of Dallas against Phoenix Dec 25
- Mavericks Odds: How to bet the Dallas Mavericks at Phoenix Suns Dec 25
- Mavericks vs Suns Preview: 3 things to know as Mavericks get Christmas Day showdown against the Suns Dec 24
- NBA Power Rankings Watch: the Mavericks navigate the injury bug Dec 24
- Bask in Dante Exum’s glow up from NBA exile to Dallas Mavericks starter Dec 24
- AJ Lawson scores career-high 17 points against the Spurs Dec 24
- Quote board: Doncic, Mavs roll over Wemby-less Spurs Dec 24