MIAMI (AP) -- Turns out, the Miami Heat
can beat the Brooklyn Nets.
And rest hardly led to rust for the two-time defending NBA champions.
LeBron James scored 22 points, Ray
Allen added 19 and the Heat stayed
perfect in this postseason by beating the
Nets 107-86 on Tuesday night in Game 1
of an Eastern Conference semifinal
series. It was the first win for Miami in
five meetings with Brooklyn this season.
Chris Bosh scored 15 points and
grabbed 11 rebounds, Dwyane Wade
finished with 14 points and Mario
Chalmers had 12 for Miami, which
recorded at least one regular-season win
against every team except Brooklyn,
losing four times by a total of 12 points.
This one was a different story.
Deron Williams and Joe Johnson scored
17 points each for the Nets, who got only
eight from Paul Pierce and no points
from Kevin Garnett in 16 minutes.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is
Thursday night.
A 24-9 run in the third quarter blew
things open for the Heat, who hadn't
played in eight days after sweeping
Charlotte in the opening round. James
finished 10 for 15 from the field and Allen
- who had never faced his former Boston
''Big 3'' compatriots Pierce and Garnett
in the playoffs - was 4 of 7 from 3-point
land.
Miami's lead was 55-52 early in the third
quarter after a 3-pointer by Williams, and
every indication was that the Heat and
Nets - who played three one-point
games and a double-overtime affair in
the regular season - were heading down
to the wire again.
Not quite.
The Heat took off on the 24-9 run over a
7-minute span, with Bosh scoring the
first seven points of that burst to get
Miami going. Allen's 3-pointer pushed
the lead to 14, James and Chris
Andersen (who left in the fourth with a
right knee contusion) added two free
throws apiece and just like that Miami's
lead was up to 79-61.
For Brooklyn, it was a collapse at an
unexpected time. The Nets had the best
third-quarter scoring differential in the
East after Jan. 1, but were outscored 33-23 in that pivotal quarter in Game 1.
It was a hectic news day long before
Heat-Nets, with Oklahoma City's Kevin
Durant being announced as the league's
MVP, the firing of Golden State coach
Mark Jackson and the NBA saying that
Los Angeles Clippers president Andy
Roeser would be taking an indefinite
leave as part of the fallout related to the
Donald Sterling scandal.
And pregame lineup moves by both
clubs lent more intrigue. Miami brought
Shane Battier - who played 2 minutes,
total, in the first round against Charlotte
- back into the starting five, while
Brooklyn reinserted Shaun Livingston
into its lineup after using him off the
bench late in the Toronto series.
After never leading by more than seven
points against Brooklyn in the regular
season, the Heat led by 11 after a drive
by James with 3:32 left in the first half.
But the Nets closed on a 14-6 run, and
Williams' first beat-the-clock 3-pointer
of the game sent Brooklyn into halftime
down 46-43.
Williams did it again in the third, but that
one only got Brooklyn within 79-66.
NOTES: The Heat held a pregame
moment of silence for Hall of Famer Jack
Ramsay, who died last week at the age
of 89. ... David Beckham, who will be
bringing an MLS team to Miami, sat next
to the Heat bench. ... Livingston was on
the court to warm up for the second half
with about 10 minutes left in the
intermission. Small problem: The rack of
basketballs wasn't on the court yet. ...
The Nets are 1-9 all-time against Miami
in playoff games. ... Miami had not won
consecutive Game 1s since the 2nd and
3rd rounds of the 2012 playoffs.
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