HEAT 118, CAVALIERS 90
Miami Heat's LeBron James scores 38 in homecoming win against Cleveland
miamiherald.com
BY JOSEPH GOODMAN
jgoodman@MiamiHerald.com
LeBron James put aside the distraction of his first game in Cleveland as the Heat played its best game of the season.
CLEVELAND -- It was a cauldron of hate. There was pain here and wounds and it all smelled like sweat and alcohol. Then LeBron James poured salt all over it, and Cleveland hated him that much more for the feeling.
The Heat defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 118-90 in James' first game in his old town since signing with the Heat. The intensity of the first quarter of this game at Quicken Loans Arena, hyped by months of jilted anger and ESPN, was palpable. The sold-out crowd was hysterical. It was unbridled lunacy. It was a collective catharsis of anger dubbed to the arena's Eminem soundtrack.
There were chants of vulgarity and personal attacks screamed by thousands. There were ear-piercing boos every time James touched the ball. The crowd couldn't even contain itself during the national anthem.
If hate is a disease, then Cleveland on Thursday night was the ailment's case study.
And then, when the crowd was at its nastiest, every time James touched the ball, the ball went in the basket. And, like that, it was all over save the lingering feelings.
The crowd started chanting ``Akron Hates You! Akron Hates You! Akron Hates You!'' with 4:31 left in the first quarter and the home team leading by two points. That's when James paused at the free-throw line, smiled, made both attempts and then proceeded to break the hearts of so many once again.
The Heat (12-8) never trailed after that and played, without question, its best game of the young season. Only one Cavs starter (Mo Williams) scored in the double figures. Reserve Daniel Gibson led the Cavs with 21 points.
Led by James' eight points, the Heat went on a 13-0 run after the first rounds of ``Akron Hates You!'' The next time the arena got around to its go-to, first-half chant, the Heat was up by double digits. The Heat led by 19 after the second quarter and the lead swelled to 38 points in the third.
James finished with 38 points, eight assists and five rebounds in just 30 minutes. He shot 15 of 25 from the floor and seemed to play better every time the crowd began chanting various and creative phrases of bile.
Not to be outdone, Wade nearly dropped a triple-double. He finished with 22 points, making 10 of 16 attempts, nine rebounds and nine assists. Chris Bosh had 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting. The Heat's Big 3 watched the final minutes of the blowout on the bench while the reserves finished off the Cavs (7-11).
It all seemed so very efficient this dismantling of every problem and criticism this Heat team has experienced since that first loss to the Celtics. The Heat, which scored 36 points in the third quarter, flirted with 60 percent shooting entering the fourth. It was the Heat's first win on the road since Oct. 31. The Heat is now 3-5 away from AmericanAirlines Arena.
The Heat went on a 17-2 run midway through the third quarter to put the game away. James played his best basketball of the season during that stretch. He scored 14 points, including one three-pointer and three three-point plays. He simply took the game over.
Afterwards, the crowd began chanting, ``Scot-tie Pip-pen! Scot-tie Pip-pen!'' They were unrelenting.
Every statistical category where the Heat has struggled on the season showed improvement Thursday. The Heat outrebounded the Cavs 43-35 and outscored the Cavs in the paint 36-32. Reserve center Joel Anthony had eight rebounds to go along with four points.
Reserve forward James Jones had six rebounds and made 5 of 7 three-point attempts en route to 18 points.
Jones' fourth three-pointer gave the Heat a 102-75 lead. The Heat had 19 fast break points with 8:59 left in the game, and James didn't play the entire fourth quarter.
He just sat back and listened to the chants, which had finally relented but never truly went away.
The Miami Herald
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