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Wade sits, but Heat hammer Bobcats

Apr 14, 2012 - 2:58 AM Miami, FL (Sports Network) - LeBron James had 19 points, nine rebounds and five assists and the Heat cruised past the lowly Bobcats, 105-82, on Friday.

The Heat were coming off of Thursday's overtime loss to Chicago. They were without Dwyane Wade (ankle) against Charlotte, but got 18 points from Chris Bosh and 16 from Dexter Pittman to pull within 3 1/2 games of the idle Bulls for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

"We could have come in here and really dragged and had a huge hangover from last night, but life goes on and we had a game to get and a chance to get better," said Bosh.

Derrick Brown had 21 points and nine rebounds for the Bobcats, losers of 15 in a row. They are the only team in the NBA with single-digit victories (7-51).

"Obviously it's bad, but we need to continue to play as hard as we can to get ready for the future," said Brown. "That's the biggest thing, not giving up."

Miami was never threatened on Friday.

Bosh and James set the tone early, scoring 12 and 10 first-quarter points, respectively. James added two rebounds, a pair of assists, a steal and a blocked shot over that span and the Heat pushed their advantage to as many as 14, carrying a 33-19 lead into the second quarter.

It was 58-39 at the half and James again controlled the pace in the third, notching seven points to go with five rebounds and two assists.

In the fourth, he handed control to the reserves, who stretched the margin to a game-high 27 points. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra emptied his bench and Pittman led the way with 10 of his career-high 16 points in the final frame.

Game Notes

Miami has won eight straight over the Bobcats...The Heat went just 2-of-14 from three-point range...Charlotte never led.