Heat on Fire; Make it 10 in a Row

The 16.5 point spread for this game was just a little too much as the Cleveland Cavaliers came to South Beach and gave Miami a run for their money.

Cleveland controlled most of the first half as they had as much as a 10 point lead before taking a mere 3 point lead into halftime. During that second quarter, Cleveland went on a 14-2 run which opened that 10 point lead. That didn't last long though as the Heat strung a few buckets of their own together to cut the lead to 3.

After the third quarter the Heat had gained a two point lead... and then Mr. Wade took over. This is what Dwayne Wade knows how to do and something the Heat will have to let me do if they want to win ball games. He scored Miami's first seven points of the fourth, then gave Miami a scare when he took a tumble and aggravated his sore left wrist. He sat on the bench in pain as he got it taped up and didn't miss a minute. He came out of that timeout to hit a pull-up three in transition and then another deep 26 footer to ultimately seal it.

This was a complete turnaround for Cleveland. They have not won since the game before LeBron's return home. They have lost every game since then by an average of 20 points but this game was different. Head Coach Byron Scott on his team; "I couldn't ask for them to play any harder than they played, I thought they were terrific effort-wise. They competed for 48 minutes."

This marks the tenth straight win for the heat, the only one during the streak by single digits. "I've never won 10 games in a row," Chris Bosh said. "So I'm happy."

Dwayne Wade ended with 28 points and 6 rebounds. LeBron James added 21 and a season high 13 rebounds. The third man of the big three, Chris Bosh had 16 points and role players like Mario Chalmers who started in place of Carlos Arroyo (death in family) and James Jones pumped in 14 and 11 points respectively.

The Heat will try and make it 11 in a row but will have a tough task in front of them when they face the Surging New York Knicks and A'mare Stoudemire at Madison Square Garden, Friday on ESPN at 7:00pm EST.

HEAT RECORD: 19-8

LAST 10: 10-0

STANDINGS: 1st Southeast Div. (2 game lead)/ 2nd Eastern Conference (2 1/2 GB)

NEXT GAME: @ New York Knicks (16-10; 2nd Atlantic Div.) Fri. 12/17 7:00pm EST on ESPN