Miami Heat forward LeBron James dunks against Charlotte Bobcats in game two during the first round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at American Airlines Arena in Miami on Wednesday. PICTURE: USA TODAY Sports
AFP/Miami
LeBron James scored 32 points and Chris Bosh tallied 20 points as the host Miami Heat beat the Charlotte Bobcats 101-97 to take a 2-0 lead in their first round playoff series on Wednesday.
The Bobcats cut Miami’s lead to 10 points at halftime after shooting 50 percent from the field in the second quarter. Charlotte got as close as four points three times in the third. But the Heat led by seven heading into the fourth and then held on for the victory.
Miami now takes a comfortable series lead into game three on Saturday in Charlotte.
Bosh’s three-pointer put the brakes on a 10-0 Bobcats surge in the fourth quarter and Dwyane Wade came up with a crucial steal in the final seconds with the Heat clinging to a three-point lead, hitting a foul shot at the other end to help clinch the win.
“They hung around,” said Miami coach Erik Spoelstra. “They didn’t make it easy to break it open.”
Wade finished with 15 points as he, Bosh and James combined to score 19 of Miami’s 22 points in the fourth quarter.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds and Al Jefferson scored 18 with 13 rebounds for Charlotte, who are the lone current NBA franchise without a playoff victory.
Jefferson played Wednesday despite suffering a strain in his left foot in game one.
Jefferson left the game late in the first quarter but checked back in early in the second. He was nine-of-23 from the floor.
“(I was in) a lot of pain, but it was mind over matter,” said Jefferson. “I just missed a lot of shots I should have made, but we still had a chance to win at the end.”
Miami also had to hold on for the win in game one on Sunday when they pulled away for a 99-88 win. The Heat have beaten the Bobcats 18 consecutive times including the wins in this series.
Miami had a 29-19 lead after outshooting the Wizards 52 percent to 26 percent in the first quarter. James had 12 points in the first and an acrobatic dunk in the second after he chased down an stray Bobcats’ pass near midcourt. It gave the Heat a 14-point lead.
Mavericks beat Spurs to level series
Monta Ellis tallied 21 points and Shawn Marion scored 20 as the Dallas Mavericks routed the error-prone San Antonio Spurs 113-92 to level their opening round NBA playoff series at 1-1 on Wednesday.
Dallas took advantage of some sloppy play by the Spurs and could easily be ahead two games to none in the Western Conference series. They led by double digits in the fourth quarter of the first game but ended up losing 90-85.
San Antonio turned the ball over 24 times Wednesday, leading to 33 Dallas points.
“That’s the been the weak link for us throughout the year and it showed up tonight,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “It’s a bad combination when you play bad defence at one end and give up the ball at the other end.”
In the other West contest Wednesday, LaMarcus Aldridge scored 40-plus points for the second game in a row as the Portland Trail Blazers beat the host Houston Rockets 112-105 to seize a commanding 2-0 series lead.
Dallas snapped a 10-game losing streak against the Spurs and posted their first postseason victory since June 12, 2011 when they beat Miami to win the NBA championship.
Dirk Nowitzki finished with 16 points while teammate Devin Harris scored 18. Jose Calderon scored all 12 of his points in the third quarter.
“I like our intensity right now,” Nowitzki said. “We can’t take the foot off the gas.”
Manu Ginobili finished with 27 points off the bench for San Antonio, while Tony Parker had 12 points and Tim Duncan 11 points and seven boards.
“Such a poor performance in the playoffs really bugs me,” Ginobili said. Dallas will host game three of the best-of-seven series on Saturday.
“They are such a dangerous team and have such great players,” Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said of the Spurs. “We are mixing things up a lot and doing things we frankly don’t want to do. “It’s a monumental task, but we’re in this thing to win. We can’t let up. Going back home, this is where he have to avoid any let-up.”
Aldridge scored a Portland playoff record 46 points in Sunday’s overtime win, then scored 43 on 18-of-28 shooting Wednesday at the Toyota Center arena. “These two games are as well as I’ve seen him play. He’s very determined and focused,” Blazers head coach Terry Stotts said of Aldridge.
Damian Lillard tallied 18 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds for the Blazers, whose bench outscored Houston’s reserves 30-13.
Dwight Howard led Houston with 32 points and 14 rebounds but was limited to seven points after halftime. James Harden netted 18 points, but needed 19 shots to get there. Through the first two games, Harden has shot just 29.8 percent from the field.
FIRST-ROUND PLAYOFF RESULTS
(all series best-of-seven)
At Miami
Miami 101 Charlotte 97
(Miami leads series 2-0)
At Houston
Portland 112 Houston 105
(Portland leads series 2-0)
At San Antonio
Dallas 113 San Antonio 92