• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Allen helps Heat rally past Cavs

Nov 25, 2012 - 4:40 AM Miami, FL (Sports Network) - Ray Allen drained the go-ahead 3-pointer with 18.2 seconds remaining and the Miami Heat scored the final nine points to pull out a 110-108 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday at American Airlines Arena.

Allen, who finished with 17 points and five rebounds, scored the game's final seven points. LeBron James poured in a game-high 30 points to go with six rebounds and five assists against his former team.

Chris Bosh netted 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Heat, who improved to 6-0 at home this season. Dwyane Wade added 18 and seven boards in the victory.

"Cleveland played a very good game. They did enough to win on the road," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "They played a great game on both end of the court. Our guys absolutely relish those moments in the fourth quarter and we made big plays down the stretch."

Jeremy Pargo netted 16 points and handed out seven assists, while rookie Dion Waiters added 16 for the Cavs, who have lost two straight since an impressive 92-83 win over Philadelphia on Wednesday.

Omri Casspi drained four 3-pointers en route to 15 points in defeat.

Trailing, 108-101, with 1:58 on the clock, the Heat began their comeback as a layup by James and a 3-point play from Allen around a Pargo miss quickly pulled the champs within 108-106 with 1:32 left.

On the next Cleveland touch, Anderson Varejao left a jumper short and Mario Chalmers grabbed the rebound for Miami with 41.9 left. Wade missed a 14- footer, but James grabbed the offensive board and fed Allen, who calmly rose up and buried the deep 3-ball to give his side a 109-108 margin.

On the Cavs' next possession, Pargo threw up a 7-footer from the right baseline, but the shot was empathically stuffed back in his face by Wade. Allen sealed it for Miami with 1-of-2 from the free throw line. Allen missed the second foul shot and the Cavs called timeout with 0.6 seconds left, but Cleveland didn't get a last shot attempt off in time.

"We played hard coming off a back-to-back," Cavs coach Byron Scott said. "Our guys showed a lot of guts, but little things are killing us, especially toward the end of games. We just haven't figured out how to win."

It was a one-possession game for most of the first quarter until a driving slam by Alonzo Gee gave the Cavs a six-point lead with 4:04 on the clock.

A 3-point play by James with less than a minute to play tied things at 26, but Casspi ended the quarter with a deep 3-ball, putting Cleveland ahead, 29-26 after 12 minutes.

C.J. Miles drained a deep three early in the second stanza to give the Cavs a 42-35 advantage, but the Heat stayed close as James hit 1-of-2 from the line to pull the defending champs within three with 2:37 to go before halftime.

Cleveland scored the final eight points of the half to widen the lead to 59-48 at the break.

The Heat battled back in the third quarter, outscoring the Cavs, 19-9 over the first seven minutes of the session to slice the deficit down to 68-67.

James buried a deep deuce with 46.3 seconds on the clock to tie things at 75, but the Heat trailed, 79-77, heading into the final 12 minutes.

Game Notes

The Heat have won seven of eight matchups with the Cavs since James signed with Miami ... The Heat shot 52.2 percent from the floor and 9-of-19 from 3-point range, while Cleveland hit 44.3 percent of its shots ... The game featured seven ties and three lead changes ... Miami shot 78.4 percent from the free-throw line, while Cleveland didn't fare much better, hitting 72.7 percent.