Miami Heat Blog – Page 81 – NBA Blog

Carmelo Anthony scores 50 points on banged-up Heat

On this night, LeBron James couldn’t touch Carmelo Anthony — and Melo should thank Miami president Pat Riley for it.

With James and Dwyane Wade sitting out Tuesday night’s showdown with “minor’’ ailments, Anthony put on a South Beach show with 50 points in 40 minutes.

Anthony carried the Knicks to a 102-90 victory at AmericanAirlines Arena for their ninth straight victory — their longest winning streak since 1993-94.

Anthony had 42 points after three quarters but needed a 19-footer with 16.9 seconds to reach the magical 50 that tied his career high. James had a great view from the bench — as Anthony sank 18 of 26 baskets, made 7 of 10 3-pointers and 7 of 8 free throws.

How’d it look, LeBron?

“He was unbelievable,’’ coach Mike Woodson said. “He refused to let us lose tonight. He wasn’t forcing anything. Some things come easy for a great player and tonight he did everything he was supposed to do to put us in position to win.’’

— Reported by Marc Berman of the New York Post

J.R. Smith scored 14 and Raymond Felton added 10 for New York.

Chris Bosh scored 23 points for Miami, which beat San Antonio on Sunday without James, Wade and Chalmers, but managed only 32 second-half points against the Knicks. Mike Miller scored 18, Ray Allen finished with 16 and Norris Cole had 14 for the Heat, whose 17-game home winning streak was snapped.

The Knicks beat the Heat in three of their four regular-season matchups. They likely would not meet again before the Eastern Conference finals.

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

Chris Bosh 3-pointer lifts short-handed Heat past Spurs

Often the forgotten member of Miami’s ”Big Three,” Chris Bosh stepped up with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade sitting out to get the Heat a big win and move closer to securing home-court advantage throughout the NBA playoffs.

Bosh scored 23 points, including the winning 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds remaining, and the Heat beat San Antonio 88-86 on Sunday night with James, Wade and Mario Chalmers watching from the locker room as they sat out with injuries.

”We are the defending champs no matter who we put out there,” Bosh said. ”We are still the Miami Heat. We believe in ourselves. Each one of these guys is a professional. We played bigger roles in other cities but we came together and accepted lesser roles to win a championship here. We can still tap into that.”

Ray Allen added 14 points, Norris Cole had 13 and Mike Miller 12 for Miami (58-15), which swept the season series with San Antonio (55-18). By earning the head-to-head tiebreaker with San Antonio, the Heat have a four-game cushion with nine remaining for the league’s best record…

Miami beat San Antonio 105-100 on Nov. 29 when the Spurs opted to rest Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green.

All but Ginobili (strained right hamstring) played Sunday.

Duncan had 17 points and 12 rebounds and Kawhi Leonard added 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs, who had a seven-game home winning streak snapped. Green and Parker added 12 points apiece and Stephen Jackson had 11.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Pat Riley says Danny Ainge should shut up about LeBron

Miami Heat President Pat Riley has added another chapter to his rivalry with the Boston Celtics.

After LeBron James complained about calls and Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge chided him for it, Riley lashed back Friday night.

Riley’s response: “Danny Ainge needs to shut the (expletive) up and manage his own team.”

This saga started Wednesday after Miami’s 27-game winning streak ended in Chicago. James told reporters that night that he does not believe some of the hard fouls he takes are “basketball plays.” A day later, Ainge told Boston radio station WEEI that “it’s almost embarrassing that LeBron would complain about officiating.”

Riley was clearly irked, calling Ainge “the biggest whiner going when he was a player.”

— Reported by the Associated Press

According to Ethan J. Skolnick of the Palm Beach Post, “After Donovan relayed Riley’s quotes to the media Friday evening, coach Erik Spoelstra was asked to speak on them. “I love direct GM-to-GM communication,” he said, smiling. “It’s awesome.” Ray Allen, who played for the Celtics the past five seasons, also smiled when the quotes were read to him. “That’s between Danny and Pat,” Allen said. “They obviously have a lot of history.” James does not hold a structured press availability prior to games, but when Riley’s just-released statement was mentioned to him — as he got stretched on the floor and scrolled through Twitter — he referred to it as “awesome.” When told of the statement, a couple of his teammates also heartily approved. Heat players have frequently expressed amusement that representatives of other teams — whether players, coaches or executives — tend to talk so much about them. They are especially amused by the Celtics’ chatter about them, whether it’s coming from Jason Terry or Paul Pierce or whomever; one Heat player referred to it as an “obsession.”

Miami Heat winning streak ends at 27 games after loss to Bulls

With two-tenths of a second left, LeBron James took the final inbounds pass in his own end, dropped the ball to let time expire, turned and walked toward the exit.

No buzzer beater.

No fourth-quarter rally.

No record for James and the Miami Heat, either.

The Heat’s bid for NBA history ended Wednesday night when their 27-game winning streak was snapped by the Chicago Bulls 101-97, setting off a raucous celebration inside United Center.

Miami finished six shy of the 33-game record held by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers.

James said there was no shame in falling short.

”It’s one of the best that this league has ever seen,” James said, referring to the streak that began on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 3. ”We recognized that and rightfully so.”

James tried to spur yet another comeback in the final minutes, getting mad after a rough foul. But the reigning MVP could never get the defending champions even or, more importantly, ahead.

Luol Deng scored 28 points, Carlos Boozer added 21 points and 17 rebounds, and the Bulls brought the Heat’s stampede to a screeching halt.

— Reported by Andrew Seligman of the Associated Press

LeBron James wanted Taj Gibson to join the Miami Heat

It wasn’t the type of conversation Bulls forward Taj Gibson anticipated having when he accepted a spot on the USA Select Team last summer to work out against Team USA as it prepared for the London Olympics.

Then again, it isn’t often LeBron James tries to recruit you to join him with the Miami Heat.

‘‘We talked about it a lot because I was coming up on my contract, possibly becoming a free agent,’’ Gibson said. ‘‘We were kicking it around, and [James] was saying: ‘Come to Miami. Come in, and we’ll treat you right there.’ I was like, ‘Nah, I’m cool with the Bulls.’ ’’

At the time, he really wasn’t.

Gibson entered training camp with an uncertain future. The Bulls had until Nov. 1 to give him a contract extension or allow him to become a restricted free agent after this season. James knew that and was planting the seed.

— Reported by Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times

Dwyane Wade says knee pain is subsiding

Dwyane Wade sat out for the second game in a row as he continued to rest a sore right knee.

Wade said he underwent an MRI that returned negative and said the pain in his knee was diminishing.

“It’s just a bruise,” Wade said. “It’s just about understanding when you have something lingering it can affect other parts of your body. You have to be smart about it.

“You have to understand what’s coming down for our team in the next few days. [Sunday] was a good day, and hopefully it will feel better by Wednesday so I can get back on the court.”

Wade said he first took a hit on the knee in the team’s previous home game against Orlando on March 6, then hit it again against the Celtics on March 18.

— Reported by Andre C. Fernandez of the Miami Herald

Miami Heat winning streak reaches 26 games

The world’s best came out to see if Miami could do it again. Novak Djokovic, the top-ranked men’s tennis player. Wladimir Klitschko, the world heavyweight boxing king. Rory McIlroy, who sits atop the golf rankings for at least one more night.

And they got quite a show.

The Heat won their 26th straight game on Sunday, with LeBron James going for 32 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in a 109-77 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats.

”I think it’s very humbling that you can have some of the greats from other sports come to see your team play, come to see you play,” said James, who was 11 for 14 from the field in another surgical performance. ”You try to leave an impression on them, as a team and as an individual, absolutely. So it was great to have them in the building, for sure.”

Chris Bosh and Norris Cole had 15 points apiece for the Heat, who played without Dwyane Wade, held from the lineup because of right knee soreness that the team believes is minor. And after yet another slow start, Miami is now seven victories shy of matching the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers for the league record of 33 in a row.

The show now goes on the road for a four-game trip that begins in Orlando on Monday, a swing that also will take the Heat to Chicago, New Orleans and San Antonio. And the Heat will start that trip 2 1/2 games ahead of San Antonio in the race for the NBA’s best record.

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

Shane Battier says Miami Heat have room to improve

The Miami Heat have won 25 straight games, turned what was a super-close Eastern Conference race into a runaway and seem to be finding different ways to prevail on a nightly basis.

And no, they are not particularly thrilled with themselves right now.

From the Heat perspective, it’s almost like they are simultaneously slumping and streaking after facing double-digit deficits in three consecutive games, yet finding ways to win them all, much like each of the 22 games that preceded this week.

”I’m taking the world view, that we have room to improve,” forward Shane Battier said. ”By no stretch of the imagination are we playing our best basketball right now. We’re winning ball games, but we have a lot of room for improvement. We have not started well the last couple games and our defensive focus has not been there. It’s been there in the second half and when we need it, but we need to do it more consistently.”

Even as they move closer to the NBA-record winning streak of 33 straight established by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1971-72, the bigger concern in the Heat locker room is that they are nowhere near a playoff gear with just 14 games remaining before the postseason arrives. They’ve trailed after five of their past six opening quarters, been losing at halftime in three straight outings and have been outshot in three of their last six contests.

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

Heat sign Juwan Howard for rest of season

Juwan Howard doesn’t play much, but his presence on the Miami Heat is obviously appreciated.

The Heat announced today that they have signed Howard for the remainder of the season.

Howard was previously signed by the HEAT to a 10-day contract on March 2 and then re-signed to a second 10-day contract on March 12. He has not appeared in a game for Miami this season, but has appeared in 85 games with the HEAT over the last two seasons averaging 2.1 points, 2.0 rebounds and 9.2 minutes while shooting 40 percent from the field. Additionally, he appeared in 11 postseason games during Miami’s 2012 NBA Championship run, totaling 17 points, 10 rebounds and an assist in 60 minutes of action while shooting 4-of-9 from the field.

The former NBA All-Star was originally signed by the HEAT as a free agent on July 20, 2010 and then re-signed on December 9, 2011.

Heat barely survive Cavs, get 24th win in a row

Miami’s winning streak was in danger of disappearing – in Cleveland, of all places.

But LeBron James wouldn’t give up.

”That guy right there doesn’t want to lose in this building,” teammate Dwayne Wade said, nodding toward James, who left many angry Cavaliers fans behind when he bolted for Miami as a free agent three years ago. ”Not tonight.”

James scored 25 points as the Heat overcame a 27-point deficit in the third quarter and won their 24th straight game, 98-95 over the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night to extend the second-longest winning streak in NBA history.

The Heat are within nine games of matching the record of 33 consecutive wins held by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers. Once believed to be untouchable, the mark is now within reach.

James and his teammates have insisted the record isn’t one of their goals, and for more than 30 minutes the defending champions seemed disinterested and on the verge of losing for the first time since Feb. 1. Miami trailed 67-40 with 7:44 left in the third quarter.

— Reported by Tom Withers of the Associated Press