LeBron: Cavs' futility in Miami 'a little concerning'
MIAMI — The Miami Heat have owned the Cleveland Cavaliers in South Florida, and it has started to worry LeBron James.
The Heat beat the Cavs 122-101 Saturday night, making it 11 consecutive home victories against Cleveland dating to 2010. More important, since James returned to Cleveland last season, the Heat are 4-0 in the series, with the wins coming by a combined 60 points.
Currently, the two teams are positioned on the same side of the playoff bracket and are a potential second-round match-up.
“The way they’ve beat us here is a little concerning if we face them (in the playoffs),” James said. “I think we’ll be ready for it more. We didn’t play with (our) potential. We didn’t play our game, we let them play their game and they took it to us.”
James scored 26 points for the Cavs, who were a step slow in their fifth game in seven nights. He didn’t play in the Cavs’ previous game in Miami this season, a game the Heat won by 15 points in December. The Cavs beat the Heat by 10 points in their only trip to Cleveland in October.
“With LeBron James coming back here they get up for the game,” Cavs coach Tyronne Lue said. “We need to start getting up for these games.”
Dwyane Wade scored 24 points for the Heat and reached the 20,000-point plateau during the third quarter. He was one of five Heat players who have scored in double figures.
James has played relatively well in Miami despite some occasionally hostile treatment from his old fans. He has averaged 27.3 points on 55 percent shooing in three games at AmericanAirlines Arena over the past two seasons. His Cavs teammates, however, have not followed suit.
Overall, the Cavs are 9-6 in their past 15 games, and their lead over the Toronto Raptors for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference is down to 1.5 games.
“You would like to play well from February into March,” James said. “Consistency is a part of life.”
