Cavs get their revenge against LeBron, Heat

It may not have seemed like a great night for the Cavs fans heading to Quicken Loans Arena, but boy were they in for an unexpected treat.  Cleveland got off to a quick start, jumping out to an early 10-3 lead, and that was just the beginning of a great night for them.  A little later the first sparks of the game flew when Dwyane Wade and Ryan Hollins were T-ed up after Wade started yapping at after taking an elbow to the face.

The Cavs stayed ahead of the Heat for a while, at one point going up by as many as 16 during the 2^nd quarter.  They took an 11-point lead into the half after Baron Davis hit a triple at the buzzer.  Miami's bench was outscored 20-6 in the opening half and they were out-rebounded 20-12.  For the Cavs, things were going in their favor, that's for sure.

After Miami got to within 5, Cleveland went on a 16-0 run early in the 3^rd quarter to send the fans into frenzy and put the Heat down by 21.  The Heat followed it up by closing the quarter on a 22-4 run which was capped by a 50-foot bomb by LeBron that closed the gap to 5.  There was a little controversy because the clock operator ran the clock when he shouldn't have, but the ref's reviewed the play and got it right. 

Mike Bibby's 5^th triple of the game opened the 4^th quarter, and a few minutes later his 7^th tied the game at 83 apiece.  Unfortunately those would be the last points Miami would score for over 4 minutes, allowing the Cavs to score 12 straight points and put the game away.  LeBron James scored the final 7 points of the game for the Heat but it was too little too late as the Cavaliers got a big win for their fans on this night. 

GAME NOTES

• LeBron picked up a triple double in the losing effort, his 4^th of his season.  He picked up 27 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists. 
• The Heat, who is usually very good in the 4^th quarter, was outscored 27-20. 
• The Big 3 combined for just 61 points after combining for 90+ in each of the last two games. 
• Dwyane Wade now has 26 steals and 25 blocks in the month of March.  He finished the game with 24 points, 4 boards, 6 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks.  
• Chris Bosh had an off night, to say the least, finishing with just 10 points and 4 rebounds. 
• Mike Bibby had a monstrous night, scoring 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting, all from downtown.  He added 2 rebounds, 2 steals and an assist. 
• The Heat bench had 6 points, all coming in the 1^st half. 
• Cleveland hit a season high 55.6% of their shots.
• Despite having such a poor season, this was the Cavs 23^rd sellout of the season.

Miami has 3 more games on its current road trip.   Next up is Washington on Wednesday, followed by Minnesota and New Jersey.  The 3 teams have a combined record of 58-162.