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(REUTERS)-The NBA champions Miami Heat fought back from a 14-point deficit to beat the Brooklyn Nets 102-89 and maintain their perfect home record this season.
Trailing from tip-off until late in the third quarter, Miami stepped up their game late to overcome the Nets (11-5) with Dwyane Wade scoring 34 points while LeBron James added 21. It is the 12th consecutive win for Miami over the Nets. The Nets had seven players score in double figures, led by Andray Blatche’s 20, but failed to keep pace with the Heat’s late charge.
The Heat topped the Eastern Conference with a 12-3 record and improved to 8-0 at home for the first time, having scored more than 100 points in all eight victories.
Six of the Heat’s previous wins this season have come with fourth-quarter fightbacks but Miami made their move earlier in Saturday’s game.
“We had an honest talk with ourselves at half-time and we corrected a lot of mistakes,” Heat centre Chris Bosh said. “We don’t really get too rattled if teams jump out on us.”
Bosh rejected suggestions the side was falling into the habit of starting slow.
“I don’t think it’s a habit. It’s just playing a game,” he said. “Every game is different. Some games we’re going to be ahead, some games we are going to be down.
“The most important thing to us is consistency. We need to have a more consistent effort on defence and I think today was a good start to what we are trying to do. We know we are going to play better on the defensive end and can pace ourselves on offence.”
Other results from games which were also played on Saturday (home team in caps): Portland 118 CLEVELAND 117 (OT), CHICAGO 93 Philadelphia 88, Oklahoma City 100 NEW ORLEANS 79, HOUSTON 124 Utah 116, MILWAUKEE 91 Boston 88, SAN ANTONIO 99 Memphis 95 (OT), DALLAS 92 Detroit 77, LA CLIPPERS 116 Sacramento 81 and GOLDEN STATE 103 Indiana 92.
Trailing from tip-off until late in the third quarter, Miami stepped up their game late to overcome the Nets (11-5) with Dwyane Wade scoring 34 points while LeBron James added 21. It is the 12th consecutive win for Miami over the Nets. The Nets had seven players score in double figures, led by Andray Blatche’s 20, but failed to keep pace with the Heat’s late charge.
The Heat topped the Eastern Conference with a 12-3 record and improved to 8-0 at home for the first time, having scored more than 100 points in all eight victories.
Six of the Heat’s previous wins this season have come with fourth-quarter fightbacks but Miami made their move earlier in Saturday’s game.
“We had an honest talk with ourselves at half-time and we corrected a lot of mistakes,” Heat centre Chris Bosh said. “We don’t really get too rattled if teams jump out on us.”
Bosh rejected suggestions the side was falling into the habit of starting slow.
“I don’t think it’s a habit. It’s just playing a game,” he said. “Every game is different. Some games we’re going to be ahead, some games we are going to be down.
“The most important thing to us is consistency. We need to have a more consistent effort on defence and I think today was a good start to what we are trying to do. We know we are going to play better on the defensive end and can pace ourselves on offence.”
Other results from games which were also played on Saturday (home team in caps): Portland 118 CLEVELAND 117 (OT), CHICAGO 93 Philadelphia 88, Oklahoma City 100 NEW ORLEANS 79, HOUSTON 124 Utah 116, MILWAUKEE 91 Boston 88, SAN ANTONIO 99 Memphis 95 (OT), DALLAS 92 Detroit 77, LA CLIPPERS 116 Sacramento 81 and GOLDEN STATE 103 Indiana 92.
