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Heat, Nets tussle in Brooklyn

Nov 1, 2013 - 2:43 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The hottest ticket on the NBA slate Friday night has to be the Brooklyn Nets versus the Miami Heat at Barclays Center.

In a matchup between two star-studded teams, the two-time defending champion Heat look to erase the memory of a tough 114-110 road loss against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday. One night after topping the talented Chicago Bulls, the Heat were quickly down double digits to the 76ers.

The 76ers, who scored the first 19 points of the game, had a 33-14 lead after 12 minutes before the Heat came alive to make pull within 51-49 at the break. The Heat had a 35-18 advantage in the second quarter, but Philly later went on a 15-3 run to close out the game.

"You generally get what you deserve in this league and we earned that loss there's no question about it," Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said. "They outplayed us."

LeBron James tallied 25 points and 13 assists for Miami, which posted 45 points in the third quarter. Chris Bosh scored 22 points with 10 rebounds, while Ray Allen and Mario Chalmers both contributed four 3-pointers in defeat.

The Heat sank 16-of-40 3-pointers and had six players in double figures.

Heat guard Dwyane Wade did not play against the Sixers because of sore knees and is listed as probable for Friday. So is center Greg Oden (knee).

Miami is still a dominating 31-3 in the regular season dating back to last season's All-Star Game.

Meanwhile, the Nets were big spenders this past offseason, bringing in the likes of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry to run with Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson. The chemistry wasn't there in a 98-94 loss at Cleveland on Wednesday.

Lopez and Pierce scored 21 and 17 points, respectively, while Terry added 14 off the bench and Johnson ended with 13 points, Garnett contributed eight points and 10 rebounds in the loss.

"Give (Cleveland) credit. They came out at home and played with great energy and enthusiasm," said Terry. "Every time we made a run, they would answer it. For game one, we've still got a lot of work to do."

Williams played less than 22 minutes and posted seven points to go along with nine assists. Williams is recovering from a sprained ankle.

Nets new head coach Jason Kidd will be absent again Friday as he serves out a two-game suspension for a DWI conviction. Forward Andrei Kirilenko, another offseason acquisition, missed Wednesday's game and is probable Friday due to back spasms.

Miami won all three meetings with Brooklyn last season and is riding a 13-game winning streak in the series. The Heat are 16-1 in the past 17 games against the Nets and have won seven in a row as the guest in this series. James has scored 20-plus points in 20 straight games against the Nets, the second- longest streak against the team behind Michael Jordan (39 games).

James is averaging 27.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 7.6 assists in 33 career games against the Nets. James, of course, made headlines a few weeks ago about Pierce, Garnett and Terry leaving Boston and how Heat reserve Ray Allen was ripped for departing the Celtics by his former teammates.

"I think the first thing I thought was, 'Wow, Ray got killed for leaving Boston, and now these guys are leaving Boston,'" James said. "I think it's OK; I didn't mind it. But there were a couple guys who basically (expletive) on Ray for leaving, and now they're leaving."

Garnett countered by saying, "Tell LeBron to worry about Miami. It has nothing to do with Celtic business."

So Friday's game in Brooklyn could get interesting.