Published : Jan. 18, 2012 - 18:24
MIAMI (AP) ― LeBron James scored 33 points, Chris Bosh added 30 and the Miami Heat used a historic third-quarter turnaround to erase a big deficit and beat the San Antonio Spurs 120-98 on Tuesday night, snapping a three-game slide.
Miami outscored San Antonio 39-12 in the third quarter ― the second-largest differential for any quarter in Heat history, and the second-worst differential for a period in Spurs history. The Heat trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half, 52-35 late in the second quarter.
Mike Miller made his season debut and shot 6 for 6 on 3-pointers, finishing with 18 points and tying his career-high for makes from beyond the arc. And the Heat did it all without Dwyane Wade, sitting out on his 30th birthday because of a sprained right ankle.
Miami Heat guard Norris Cole looks to pass against the San Antonio Spurs. (AP-Yonhap News)
“I couldn’t let my boy down on his birthday,” James said.
Danny Green scored 20 points for the Spurs, who got 18 from Tony Parker, 13 from DeJuan Blair and 12 from Kawhi Leonard and Gary Neal.
The Heat are now 4-0 without Wade this season, 8-1 since early last season without the 2006 NBA finals MVP. And unquestionably, this was the most improbable of those victories.
James was 7 for 9 in the third quarter. The Spurs ― combined ― were 4 for 19. James hit 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to put Miami up 72-68, and the Heat simply never stopped rolling from there.
The comeback from down 17 matched the NBA’s fifth-largest this season. Miami outscored San Antonio 71-35 after halftime.
Before the game, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich summed his team’s all-or-nothing record ― 9-0 at home, 0-4 on the road entering Tuesday ― with his usual dry wit. “We’re really good at home and on the road, we (stink). That’s the biggest difference,” Popovich said.
He was half-serious, and it certainly didn’t apply to the way the Spurs started Tuesday.
San Antonio made 12 of its first 15 shots, with eight of those makes coming from no more than 11 feet and most of them directly at the rim. James was terrible at the start, missing everything from layups to free throws, and the Spurs led 35-26 after the opening quarter.
Warriors 105, Cavs 95
Magic 96, Bobcats 89
Bulls 118, Suns 97
Nuggets 105, Bucks 95
Rockets 97, Pistons 80
Jazz 108, Clippers 79