Miami crushes Cleveland as Cavs’ win streak comes to an end

Wade and O’Neal, both of whom were announced Thursday as two of the Eastern Conference’s starting five for this year’s midseason extravaganza, combined to go 21-of-35 from the field. The pair also helped fuel a 22-0 run that bridged and first and second quarters and sent the Heat to their fourth straight win.

James Posey finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds to aid in the triumph.

LeBron James, also named to the East’s starting squad Thursday, registered 29 points and seven assists. However, the sensational guard was the lone Cavalier player in double figures. Cleveland shot just 33.7 percent for the game and made only 9-of-19 foul shots.

Miami held a double-digit lead late in the opening quarter before a Damon Jones three-pointer followed by James’ layup off a Heat turnover cut the Cavaliers’ deficit to 21-15.

Wade then converted a three-point play with 1:21 left in the first quarter to ignite Miami’s huge flurry. An Alonzo Mourning dunk and a Posey three-pointer to begin the second extended the Heat’s advantage to 29-15.

Miami didn’t stop there as Cleveland continued to miss shots. When O’Neal put back his own attempt with 6:37 remaining before intermission, the hosts had a commanding 43-15 lead.

The Cavs finally ended their nearly eight-minute drought when James hit two foul shots midway through the second quarter. Cleveland missed 13 straight field-goal attempts and a pair of free throws during the game’s fateful run.

Miami was up by as much as 27 points before intermission, but Cleveland managed to close out the half with a 10-2 run to draw within 52-33. James had seven of those points.

The Cavaliers put together a strong third quarter and closed the gap to nine, 71-62, after an Anderson Varejao layup with 1:31 to go in the frame.

However, Cleveland’s offensive woes returned in the final session, as the Cavs mustered just nine points over the last 12 minutes.

Up 78-68 with 9 1/2 minutes left, Miami put the contest out of reach with 13 straight points. Antoine Walker’s three-pointer started what turned out to be a 21-1 run for the Heat, with O’Neal contributing eight points to the burst.

The Heat took its largest lead of the night when Wayne Simien’s putback with 2:27 left made the score 99-69.

Game Notes

Miami’s Jason Williams returned to action after missing the last four games after cutting his ring finger in a weightlifting accident. He contributed four points and eight assists off the bench...The 22-0 run was the largest in AmericanAirlines Arena history, besting a 21-0 spurt by Milwaukee against Miami on November 28, 2000...Cleveland’s Zydrunas Ilgauskas dislocated his right middle finger in the first half but did return...O’Neal was named an All-Star starter for the 13th consecutive year.