Final
LeBron back in Cleveland to face Irving-less Cavs
Mar 18, 2014 - 1:56 PMVideo
All-Star Game MVP Kyrie Irving will miss at least two weeks with a left biceps injury suffered in Sunday's loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. It could be longer, but this is the initial plan.
Irving collided with Blake Griffin in Sunday's 102-80 drubbing, which ended a two-game winning streak for the Cavs. They opened a three-game western swing with wins over Phoenix and Golden State, but the smoking-hot Clippers halted that run.
After Irving left late in the first quarter against the Clips, the rout was in full effect. The lead was 17-3 midway through the first and swelled to 21 in the third quarter before LA secured its 11th consecutive victory.
"We just can't come out and start games like that," said Jarrett Jack. "We just had a lull period for almost a quarter and a half where we didn't go out there and compete. When we did, the game started to kind of turn in our favor. But fighting an uphill battle against a team like that is a very tough task."
Luol Deng led the way with 23 points, followed by 15 from Dion Waiters. Spencer Hawes chipped in 14 points before he was ejected in the fourth quarter and Jack rounded out the double-figure scorers with 12.
Cleveland won't have an easier time after the Heat leave town. Oklahoma City and Houston come in on this residency as the Cavs trail the Atlanta Hawks by five games for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff seed.
The Heat snapped a two-game losing streak Sunday with a 113-104 home win over the Houston Rockets. It was sweet revenge for Miami, which fell in Houston on March 4.
Despite the victory, the Heat are still not playing their best basketball of the season. They've dropped five of their last seven and trail the Indiana Pacers by 3 1/2 games for Eastern Conference supremacy.
Ray Allen scored a season-high 25 points to help the Heat to victory over the Rockets Sunday. Houston led with 4:26 to go, but Allen sparked the winning run with a layup to take the lead and a 3-pointer to put the Rockets out of reach.
"Ray is awesome, the guy just doesn't need much time or space. He has been huge for us," Dwyane Wade said.
Allen also moved up the NBA scoring list by passing Allen Iverson (24,368) by two points to move into 21st place.
James and Wade each notched 24 points for the Heat, who visit the Boston Celtics on this short trip. Wade added seven assists in the win and Chris Bosh scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds.
The Heat have won both matchups this season with Cleveland and are 12-1 against the Cavs since James bolted in the summer of 2010. Miami has won seven straight as the host in this series.
Mar 18 9:33 PM- 245
rootsRUWTbot Added 27 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Heat 98, Cavaliers 96 4th - 0:11Mar 18 9:31 PM - 218
rootsRUWTbot Added 6 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Heat 98, Cavaliers 93 4th - 0:15Mar 18 9:31 PM - 212
rootsRUWTbot Took away 32 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Heat 91, Cavaliers 88 4th - 3:25Mar 18 9:17 PM - 244
rootsRUWTbot Added 30 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Heat 88, Cavaliers 88 4th - 3:43Mar 18 9:14 PM - 214
rootsRUWTbot Added 10 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Heat 88, Cavaliers 85 4th - 4:40Mar 18 9:14 PM - 204
rootsRUWTbot Took away 32 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Heat 88, Cavaliers 85 4th - 4:56Mar 18 9:13 PM - 236
rootsRUWTbot Added 13 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Heat 86, Cavaliers 85 4th - 5:55Mar 18 9:09 PM - 223
rootsRUWTbot Added 34 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Heat 86, Cavaliers 85 4th - 6:19Mar 18 9:08 PM - 189
rootsRUWTbot Took away 26 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Heat 86, Cavaliers 83 4th - 6:46Mar 18 9:08 PM - 215
rootsRUWTbot Added 10 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Heat 83, Cavaliers 83 4th - 7:54Mar 18 9:06 PM - 205
rootsRUWTbot Added 27 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Heat 81, Cavaliers 82 4th - 9:50Mar 18 8:58 PM - 178
rootsRUWTbot Took away 20 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Heat 79, Cavaliers 82 4th - 10:05Mar 18 8:57 PM - 198
rootsRUWTbot Added 11 roots (Close Finish, Individual Performance)
Heat 79, Cavaliers 79 4th - 11:09Mar 18 8:55 PM - MIAMI: 79
CLEVELAND: 79
End of 3rd
Mar 18 8:52 PM - 187
roots - 162
roots - 167
roots - 152
roots - 133
roots - 140
roots - 127
roots - 121
roots - 113
roots - MIAMI: 59
CLEVELAND: 54
Halftime
Mar 18 8:09 PM - MIAMI: 37
CLEVELAND: 25
End of 1st
Mar 18 7:35 PM - MIAMI: 3
CLEVELAND: 0
1st Quarter - 11:34
Mar 18 7:13 PM
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