Heat turn tables on Nets to take series opener

Sport360 staff 14:39 07/05/2014
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  • Heating up: Miami have made a winning start against Brooklyn.

    LeBron James led the way with 22 points on Tuesday as two-time defending NBA champions Miami opened their second-round playoff series against Brooklyn with an emphatic 107-86 triumph.

    The Heat had lost all four regular-season clashes with the Nets, but they had Brooklyn's number in this one, pulling away in third quarter and cruising to a victory that gave them a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series.

    James connected on 10 of 15 shots from the floor and pulled down five rebounds, leading five Heat players who scored in double figures.

    Ray Allen contributed 19 points off the bench, Chris Bosh added 15 points with 11 rebounds, Dwyane Wade poured in 14 points and Mario Chalmers chipped in 12 for Miami.

    The Heat had led by three points at half-time, but out-scored the Nets 33-23 in a third period in which the Heat made 12 of 17 shots from the floor for a 70.6 shooting percentage.

    It was a far cry from the teams' tussles in the regular season. Although the Nets won all four of those, three of those wins were by just one point, and the fourth was in double-overtime.

    Deron Williams and Joe Johnson scored 17 points apiece for Brooklyn, but Paul Pierce put up just eight and Kevin Garnett was scoreless in just under 16 minutes on the floor.

    "It was great that we were able to come out the way we did after being off eight days," said James, whose Heat hadn't played since sweeping Charlotte in the first round last week.

    The Nets, meanwhile, needed seven games to get past Toronto in the first round.

    "I liked the energy, the activity," said Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra."Guys were competing like that the last couple of days in practice."

    The Heat will try to extend their advantage when they host game two on Thursday. 

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