Miami Heat's road streak ends against Clippers
The Miami Heat's LeBron James, right, looks at the scoreboard as his team trails the Los Angeles Clippers in the second quarter at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, on Wednesday, January 12, 2011.
LOS ANGELES -- The Heat's 13-game road victories streak came to end on Wednesday night in the Staples Center with a 111-105 loss to the Clippers.
A few weeks earlier, the Heat sent a message in this building with a blowout victory of the Lakers on Christmas Day. The Heat's most notable message this time in Los Angeles? It happened about a night earlier when LeBron James published a negative comment on Twitter directed at his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In the tweet, James cryptically credited the Cavs' blowout loss on Tuesday night to the Lakers on bad karma. Karma didn't happen two games in a row at Staples Center but the home team won both nights.
The Clippers used a terrific shooting performance in the first quarter to build a 21-point lead and then held on late. The Heat, which trailed by eight points to begin the fourth quarter, pulled within three points with 5:54 left in the game before guard Baron Davis and forward Blake Griffin combined to score the Clippers' next 10 points.
Dwyane Wade led the Heat (30-10) with 31 points, seven rebounds and five assists. LeBron James finished with 27 points despite spraining his ankle in the fourth quarter. Chris Bosh had 26 points, making 13 of 14 from the free-throw line.
James finished the game despite his ankle injury but could miss Thursday night's game against the Denver Nuggets. His X-ray after Wednesday night's game revealed no damage but James said he would be cautious. Wednesday was the Heat's third game of its current road trip, which ends on Saturday against the Bulls.
"I'll definitely be smart about the situation," James said. "My teammates will definitely tell me to be smart about it. I don't have to be a hero during the regular season if I'm not close to 100 percent."
Clippers fans chanted "Beat the Heat!" with the game no longer in doubt. Teams around the NBA have been using that slogan throughout the season when the Heat comes to their towns but few teams have experienced the feeling. Before Wednesday, the Heat hadn't lost a game on the road since November 27. Miami fell one win shy of tying the franchise record for consecutive road victories. The NBA record, held by the Lakers, is 16 straight wins on the road.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra worried aloud on Wednesday morning about the Heat's spotty shows of energy during games recently. Spoelstra said during the team's shoot around that the Heat needed to play with more consistency throughout games instead of relying on quick bursts at the end of games.
The Clippers (13-24) raced out to a 44-26 lead in the first quarter behind inspired efforts from Davis (10 points), Gordon (seven points) and Ryan Gomes (seven points). The 44 points were the most allowed by the Heat during a quarter this season. What's more, the Clippers set quarter highs allowed by the Heat in points in the paint (24) and fast-break points (12) and, most notably, shooting percentage (77.3).
"That was too much for us to overcome, the first quarter," Spoelstra said. "They blitzed us to start the game. It looked like we were running in mud."
Said Wade: "They shot 50 percent for the game and that really doesn't happen to us too much but it was one of those games where they really put their best foot forward."
Gordon led the Clippers with 26 points and showed flashes of his potential with several powerful dunks. Davis, the veteran guard, played inspired basketball throughout, finishing with 20 points and nine assists. The star, however, was the young Blake Griffin, who had 24 points and 14 rebounds.
"Blake Griffin is definitely very explosive, he's definitely one of the best young talents we have in this league and we knew we'd get their best,'' James siad. "They play really well against some of the best competition."
A few weeks earlier, the Heat sent a message in this building with a blowout victory of the Lakers on Christmas Day. The Heat's most notable message this time in Los Angeles? It happened about a night earlier when LeBron James published a negative comment on Twitter directed at his former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In the tweet, James cryptically credited the Cavs' blowout loss on Tuesday night to the Lakers on bad karma. Karma didn't happen two games in a row at Staples Center but the home team won both nights.
The Clippers used a terrific shooting performance in the first quarter to build a 21-point lead and then held on late. The Heat, which trailed by eight points to begin the fourth quarter, pulled within three points with 5:54 left in the game before guard Baron Davis and forward Blake Griffin combined to score the Clippers' next 10 points.
Dwyane Wade led the Heat (30-10) with 31 points, seven rebounds and five assists. LeBron James finished with 27 points despite spraining his ankle in the fourth quarter. Chris Bosh had 26 points, making 13 of 14 from the free-throw line.
James finished the game despite his ankle injury but could miss Thursday night's game against the Denver Nuggets. His X-ray after Wednesday night's game revealed no damage but James said he would be cautious. Wednesday was the Heat's third game of its current road trip, which ends on Saturday against the Bulls.
"I'll definitely be smart about the situation," James said. "My teammates will definitely tell me to be smart about it. I don't have to be a hero during the regular season if I'm not close to 100 percent."
Clippers fans chanted "Beat the Heat!" with the game no longer in doubt. Teams around the NBA have been using that slogan throughout the season when the Heat comes to their towns but few teams have experienced the feeling. Before Wednesday, the Heat hadn't lost a game on the road since November 27. Miami fell one win shy of tying the franchise record for consecutive road victories. The NBA record, held by the Lakers, is 16 straight wins on the road.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra worried aloud on Wednesday morning about the Heat's spotty shows of energy during games recently. Spoelstra said during the team's shoot around that the Heat needed to play with more consistency throughout games instead of relying on quick bursts at the end of games.
The Clippers (13-24) raced out to a 44-26 lead in the first quarter behind inspired efforts from Davis (10 points), Gordon (seven points) and Ryan Gomes (seven points). The 44 points were the most allowed by the Heat during a quarter this season. What's more, the Clippers set quarter highs allowed by the Heat in points in the paint (24) and fast-break points (12) and, most notably, shooting percentage (77.3).
"That was too much for us to overcome, the first quarter," Spoelstra said. "They blitzed us to start the game. It looked like we were running in mud."
Said Wade: "They shot 50 percent for the game and that really doesn't happen to us too much but it was one of those games where they really put their best foot forward."
Gordon led the Clippers with 26 points and showed flashes of his potential with several powerful dunks. Davis, the veteran guard, played inspired basketball throughout, finishing with 20 points and nine assists. The star, however, was the young Blake Griffin, who had 24 points and 14 rebounds.
"Blake Griffin is definitely very explosive, he's definitely one of the best young talents we have in this league and we knew we'd get their best,'' James siad. "They play really well against some of the best competition."
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