Cavaliers 102, Heat 92
CLEVELAND -- Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love scored 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, and forward LeBron James scored 29 points as the Cavaliers beat the Miami Heat 102-92 Friday night in their home opener.
Love has had double-doubles in his last two games, and his consecutive 3-pointers late in the third quarter gave the Cavs some space after the Heat had closed the deficit to three points.
The Cavs held the Heat to one basket through the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, pushing the game out of reach.
Guard Dwyane Wade scored 25 points and forward Chris Bosh had 16 points and five rebounds for the Heat. Center Hassan Whiteside scored nine points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked six shots.
James and Love continued to flash terrific chemistry in the early part of the season after struggling to fit together at times last year. Love has been much more aggressive since returning from offseason shoulder surgery, getting into the lane and attacking the basket.
The Heat pulled within 60-57 on a drive by Wade with 5:15 left in the third, but Love made consecutive 3-point shots to extend the lead back to 66-57. The Cavs blew it open against the Heat's bench in the fourth. Miami missed nine of its first 10 shots in the period and turned the ball over twice. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra tried getting his starters back in quickly, but it didn't help. A pair of free throws from Love pushed the Cavs' lead to 88-69 with 6:58 left.
The meeting between James and his former team didn't carry quite the same buzz as it did last season, although James acknowledged games against the Heat will always be special to him. Cavs coach David Blatt was hopeful games between these two teams will soon reach a level of normalcy.
"There was such a buzz (last season) ... I never felt like we were just playing the game," Blatt said. "And that's what we need to do. Despite the fact that there's history, obviously, a year has gone by. We need to get out there and play basketball and leave the rest of that for you guys to have fun with."
NOTES: After four years as the hunted, the Miami Heat are clearly chasing the Cavs. That's fine with Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. "This is a tough place to play," he said. "They've earned the right to have a target on their back." ... G Dwyane Wade began the night with 18,832 points, good for 52nd place on the all-time list. ... F LeBron James has dealt with a sore back for weeks, yet said Friday he wants to play in all 82 games this season, something he's never done in his career. "He wants to play," coach David Blatt said. "We won't fight that unless it becomes necessary." ... The Cavs' summer spending spree has left them owing about $175 million in payroll and taxes for this season. It could go even higher since they also possess a $10.5 million trade exception. "Hopefully we'll sell a lot of Fatheads this year to make up for it," said owner Dan Gilbert, who also owns the popular, oversized wall decal company.