Heat Gets Over Hump

Going into last nights game the Heat were looking to end a 5 game winning streak as the Lakers were looking to extend their 8 game winning streak to 9.  The game was a hard core playoff type game with 18 ties, 16 lead changes, and 6 points being the largest lead held by both teams.  The 1st quarter ended with James hitting a 2 pointer at the buzzer which put the Heat going into the 2nd quarter up 29-26.  The 1st quarter definitely set the tone for the rest of the game with all of the shots and scores coming down to the very last seconds of each quarter.  The Heat went into halftime up 2 points (55-53) and went into the final quarter of the game down 2 points (70-68).  With both teams looking for a win the 4th quarter became very intense with continuous back and forth action throughout the entire 12 minutes.  With less than six minutes left in the game Gasol tied the game at 80 points giving the Lakers hope that they could hold off and defeat the Heat in the rematch from Christmas Day.  With less than 1:30 minutes left in the game, Wade got a big steal that led to a dunk by James that but the Heat back up by 2.  With the Heat up by 4 and less than 19.2 seconds left in the game, Artest fouled James after a long 3 point miss by Bryant.  James was able to put down both free throws and the Heat held off to defeat Lakers 94-88.  James had 19 points, 9 assists, Wade had 20 points 4 steals, and Bosh led the Heat in scoring with 24 points and 9 rebounds.  Bryant had 24 points, Gasol 20 points, Artest had 6 assists, and Bynum had 12 rebounds in the lost.  The Heat are now 2-0 against the Lakers for the season and their next game is tomorrow against the Memphis Grizzlies.  Kobe Bryant was so upset by the lost and shots missed at the end of the game that he stayed after the game and had a shoot around for a hour and 20 minutes.  The Lakers next game is tomorrow against the Dallas Mavericks.

Victor Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images

Also Thursday in the NBA:

• A'mare had 36 points in the loss against the Dallas Mavericks, playing with a bruise shoulder.  Stoudemire also received his 16th technical foul for the season and is facing an one game suspension after review by the league.  Mavs defeated the Knicks 127-109, Nowitzki had 23 points, 9 rebounds, Anthony had 18 points, 10 rebounds.
• Although Melo lost last night his former team the Denver Nuggets held off to defeat the Phoenix Suns 116-97.  Nene had 27 points 7 rebounds and Lawson had 20 points 11 assists.  Gortat had 14 points, 8 rebounds and both Hill and Warrick both added 12 points each for the Suns.