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Heat lock down on defense to take 2-0 lead over Nets

May 9, 2014 - 2:55 AM Miami, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - The Miami Heat had their fair share of trouble with the Brooklyn Nets during the regular season, but it's business as usual for the two-time defending champs in the playoffs.

LeBron James had 22 points to lead all scorers and help the Heat to a 94-82 win over the Nets in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal.

Chris Bosh finished with 18 points and six rebounds, Dwyane Wade netted 14 points with seven assists and Ray Allen scored all of his 13 points in the second half to give Miami a 2-0 series lead.

"Teams are trying to figure out ways to be at their best (in the playoffs)," said James. "We have to continue to work our offense, work our defense and just find a way."

Mirza Teletovic tallied a team-high 20 points off the bench for Brooklyn on 6-of-9 shooting from 3-point range. Shaun Livingston contributed 15 points, while Paul Pierce and Joe Johnson added 13 points apiece in the setback.

Kevin Garnett made his first field goal of the series early in the third quarter and finished with four points along with a game-high 12 rebounds for the Nets.

Deron Williams, who shot 0-for-9 from the floor, was held scoreless in a playoff game for the first time in his career.

"I thought he had some great looks," Nets coach Jason Kidd said of Williams. "We look for him to bounce back in Game 3. Overall though, I thought he played good."

Brooklyn shot 20-of-40 from the floor in the first half, including 6-for-12 from beyond the arc, to take a slim 46-45 lead into the break.

Miami, however, flipped the switch at halftime and stifled the Nets in second, holding the visitors to 13-of-38 (34.2 percent) shooting from the field and just 2-for-12 (16.7 percent) from 3-point range.

With the game tied at 58-58 late in the third, Allen buried a 3-pointer, but Teletovic answered at the other end with a triple to tie it.

Miami led by three later in the frame when Pierce hit a deep 3 following two misses at the free throw line by Marcus Thornton. Thornton pulled down the second miss in a crowd and Livingston quickly found Pierce, who loaded up and knocked it down to tie the game at 67-67 with under a minute left.

James converted a layup at the other end to give the Heat a two-point edge heading into the fourth.

Holding a two-point lead midway through the final frame, Mario Chalmers and Allen both hit 3s before Bosh's jumper gave the Heat an 87-77 lead. Teletovic's layup at the other end cut the deficit to eight, and Miami countered with a deflating possession that lasted 1:40.

James missed the first three shots of the possession, as Allen, Wade and Bosh corralled each miss, respectively.

Wade then found James, who made it count on his fourth attempt with a layup inside that pushed the margin back to 10 with a tick under two minutes left.

"That was a killer," Johnson said of the possession. "We couldn't come up with the rebound. It was almost as if we didn't have the energy to stay with them down the stretch. Those last few possessions killed us."

Livingston made a pair of free throws, but Chalmers hit a 3 with under a minute to play that put the game out of reach.

Game 3 is set for Saturday in Brooklyn.

It was Brooklyn that was stout defensively in the first quarter, limiting Miami to 6-of-18 (33.3 percent) shooting from the field and 1-for-8 (12.5 percent) from 3-point range in the period to take a 21-15 lead after 12 minutes.

"In the first quarter, it was like we were stuck in mud," said James. "Once we got moving and playing, it started to get a littler better out there."

The Nets pushed their cushion to seven after a Pierce trey with over five minutes remaining until halftime.

Chalmers followed with a layup, then Bosh nailed a 3-pointer before James' driving layup tied the game at 39-apiece at 2:40.

James scored the final eight Miami points in the first half and answered every Brooklyn score with one of his own in the final minutes.

Teletovic knocked down a 3 with 38.3 seconds left to put the Nets up three, but James deposited a reverse layup to cut the deficit to 46-45 at the break.

Game Notes

Allen pulled down eight rebounds ... Williams finished with seven rebounds and six assists in his scoreless outing ... Garnett, who was held scoreless in Game 1, made his first bucket of the series with 10:57 remaining in the third quarter ... Chalmers finished with 11 points and five assists in the win ... Miami scored 15 points off of 14 Brooklyn turnovers ... There were 15 ties and seven lead changes.