Heat beat short-handed Cavaliers
MIAMI -- The Cleveland Cavaliers opted to rest All-Stars LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, and the Miami Heat took advantage, earning a 120-92 victory Saturday night at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Goran Dragic led the Heat with 23 points. Hassan Whiteside added 20 points and 13 rebounds. The Heat made 18 3-pointers, the most by Miami this season and the second-most in franchise history.
The Heat (29-34), who won 18 of their past 22 games, kept pace with the Detroit Pistons in the battle for the eighth and final playoff position in the Eastern Conference. The Pistons, who routed the Philadelphia 76ers earlier Saturday, lead Miami by 1 1/2 games.
Miami won 12 straight games in Miami against Cleveland and the Cavaliers are 0-5 here since James left the Heat.
Cleveland (42-19), the reigning NBA champion which has the best record in the Eastern Conference, is 98-34 the past two years with James in the lineup. Without James, the Cavaliers are 1-10 during that span, including 0-5 this season.
The absence of James, who won two NBA titles with the Heat before bolting back to the Cavaliers in the summer of 2014, surely disappointed many Miami fans. And it's happened before -- this is the second time in Cleveland's past three visits in which the Cavaliers opted to rest James.
Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said he chose to rest James after he scored 38 points in 39 draining minutes Friday in a 135-130 win over the Atlanta Hawks. Irving scored 43 points in 36 minutes in that game.
In addition to Saturday's loss, the Cavaliers suffered an injury when Heat forward James Johnson accidentally elbowed Iman Shumpert, Cleveland's shooting guard. Shumpert left the game with two chipped teeth.
Channing Frye came off the bench to lead Cleveland with 21 points.
Cleveland, which led by as many as eight points early, faltered a bit toward the end of the first quarter, and Miami tied the score 35-35. Cleveland shot 68.4 percent in the first quarter. Miami shot 56.5 percent but made two more 3-pointers than Cleveland, making 6 of 8 from deep.
Miami closed the second half on an 18-4 run, taking a 67-51 lead into halftime. Miami shot 54.3 percent in the first half, making 11-of-19 on 3-pointers. Cleveland shot 47.5 percent from the floor in the high-scoring half.
The Heat outscored Cleveland 34-24 in the third quarter, taking control of the game. The Cavaliers were never able to threaten in the fourth.
NOTES: Heat SG Tyler Johnson and PG Goran Dragic took hard fouls in the second and third quarters, respectively, but remained in the game. ... Cavs SF Kyle Korver started his first game of the season. ... Cavs PG Deron Williams, signed Feb. 27 after he was released by the Dallas Mavericks, made his first start for Cleveland. ... Cavs SF James Jones, a former Heat player and a Miami native, made his second start of the season. ... PF Tristan Thompson is the only player on the Cavs who started every game this season. ... Cavs PF Kevin Love (left knee) and SG J.R. Smith (right thumb) are expected back by early April. ... C Andrew Bogut, bought out by the Philadelphia 76ers, is expected to make his Cavs debut Monday night when Miami plays at Cleveland in the continuation of the home-and-home two-game set.