LeBron James and Dwyane Wade wrapped each other in a pregame embrace, chatted and laughed at halftime, then hugged again after the final buzzer. Just like old times. Only this time, just one got to enjoy a victory. James return to Miami as an opponent was a success -- for the Heat, that is. Wade scored 24 of his 31 points in the first half, Luol Deng had 25 points and dogged James defensively all night, and the Heat beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 101-91 in a hyped Christmas matchup Thursday. More from ESPN The way the Heat played against LeBron James reminded Miami observers of the way things used to be, Israel Gutierrez writes. Story Dwyane Wade and LeBron James find themselves on opposite teams but still on the same page, Dave McMenamin writes. Story ESPN Stats & Info takes a closer look at how Thursday was supposed to be about LeBron James return to Miami but how Dwyane Wade and Luol Deng stole the show. Story We didnt have a bad breakup, Wade said. We played against each other for seven years, man. The weirdness just wasnt there. It wasnt like we played against each other our whole career and the breakup happened. We played against each other for seven years, then with each other for a period of time, then he went back to the same situation and Im in the same place. Heres an example of how their relationship has endured: When James, who returned to Cleveland in the offseason after four seasons and two titles with the Heat, and the Cavaliers landed in South Florida on Wednesday, the four-time NBA MVP went to Wades house for a night of Christmas Eve revelry. James turns 30 on Tuesday. He had questions for the 32-year-old Wade about what changes at that age. Thats what they talked about, no smack about how the Cavaliers are perceived to be a championship contender and how the Heat arent even at the .500 mark. We only play this game for so long, said James, who got a warm ovation when a video of his Heat highlights played in the first quarter. Youve still got life afterwards. For us were going to compete, were going to go about our business and do what we need to do in our profession. Youll never let friendship come in between that. It was fitting that they talked about life after 30 -- because for the seventh time in their head-to-head meetings, both scored at least 30 points. James had 30 points and eight assists for the Cavaliers, who got 25 from Kyrie Irving and 14 from Kevin Love. Couple of the best in this generation, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said about the James vs. Wade nights. Spectacular. I wish I could sit back and enjoy it like a fan, because its just fantastic basketball. ... However long these two guys play, youll get your moneys worth. ESPN Radio Heat F Luol Deng tells Marc Stein about his teams win over the Cavaliers in LeBron James return to Miami, his mindset regarding facing James and more. More Podcasts » Deng had eight points and eight assists for Miami. Chris Andersen scored 12 for the Heat, who led by as many as 17, trailed for a moment in the fourth quarter before gathering themselves and pulling away again. Miami was again without Chris Bosh, still sidelined by a calf injury. Wade was just 2 for 12 after halftime. Backcourt mate Mario Chalmers was 2 for 12 for the game. It didnt matter. Miami found a way, even after a 17-point lead slipped away -- just like a 23-pointer did against Philadelphia two nights earlier. James had a go-ahead dunk in transition with 11:20 left. After that slam put Cleveland up 78-77, he got a technical foul for hanging on the rim a bit too long -- so that lead lasted exactly zero seconds. Wade made a free throw after the technical, tying the game. And up 90-87 late, the Heat finished on an 11-4 spurt. Were not that good right now, James said. Weve won some really good games, weve lost some games, but were not that good right now. scores.espn.go/nba/recap?gameId=400578721
Posted on: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 08:32:58 +0000
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