James, Heat add to Cleveland's woes

MIAMI (AP):

Once again, LeBron James helped the Cleveland Cavaliers reach a milestone in the NBA standings.

First to 40 wins one year. First to 40 losses the next.

Dwyane Wade scored 26 of his 34 points in the first half, James finished with 24 points and eight assists and the Miami Heat beat the Cavaliers for the third time since the two-time MVP changed cities, winning 117-90 on Monday night to hand Cleveland their 21st straight loss - as many as they dropped in the entire 2009-10 regular season.

Cleveland (8-40) are now two losses shy of tying the single-season NBA futility streak record shared by the 1995-96 Vancouver Grizzlies and 1997-98 Denver Nuggets. Overall, the Cavaliers have lost 31 of 32 games, along with 24 straight on the road.

"I have nothing bad to say about the players that I left and the team," James said. "I wish the organisation the best. And I wish the fans, more than anything, the best because we had a lot of great years together."

They might be hard-pressed to remember those now.

Moments of hope

This game had a few moments of hope for the Cavaliers. They were down by 19 in the first half, when Wade was almost unguardable for stretches - one of his dunks, off a pass from James, was so spectacular that rap moguls Sean 'Diddy' Combs and Rick Ross leaped from their courtside seats.

Quietly, Cleveland started putting together good stretch after good stretch, getting within 70-67 in the third quarter.

Was this going to be the night?

James had nine points in a 19-5 run to close the third quarter, Miami's lead was 89-72 entering the fourth and it turned into a romp from there.

"We played pretty good in the third quarter," Cavaliers coach Byron Scott said. "I thought they just took it to another gear. They've got the type of team that can do that."

The Heat (34-14) moved within2¹/² games of Boston for the best record in the Eastern Conference. Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 12 points and a season-high 14 rebounds against his former team, Eddie House also scored 12 and Chris Bosh added 10 points for Miami.

For Cleveland, Antawn Jamison finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Manny Harris scored 20 points and J.J. Hickson added 14. The Cavaliers were outrebounded 49-39.

"They are a good team and they've got some players who can make plays," Cleveland's Anthony Parker said, "even if you do everything right."

Last February 4, the Cavaliers beat Miami 102-86, moving to an NBA-best 40-11 at the time. The Cavs finished 61-21, two games better than anyone in the league.

Blight of blights

This year? They're better than no one. The next chance to snap the skein is tonight against Indiana. Cleveland are at Memphis on Friday, back home to face Portland on Saturday, then go to Dallas next Monday.

Lose them all and that'll be 25 in a row - the blight of blights in NBA history.

James sees no reason to enjoy Cleveland's epic struggles. And it doesn't give him a sense of vindication, either.

The way he sees it, Cleveland's descent does nothing to prove that he made the right choice in joining up with Wade and Bosh in South Florida.

"It didn't matter for me if the Cavs were going to have a successful season or not," James said. "I felt like I was making the right choice for me as an individual and for my career."

In other games, the scores were: Toronto Raptors, 93; Indiana Pacers, 104; Denver Nuggets 99; New Jersey Nets, 115; Orlando Magic, 97; Memphis Grizzlies, 100; Washington Bullets, 92; Dallas Mavericks, 102; Charlotte Hornets, 78; Utah Jazz, 83; Milwaukee Bucks, 98; and Los Angeles Clippers, 105.