Miami’s ‘Big Three’ click and Heat scorch Wizards

MIAMI, (Reuters) – Finally, the ‘Big Three’ made big  contributions and the Miami Heat crushed the Washington Wizards  105-94 on Monday with LeBron James scoring 30 points and Dwyane  Wade adding 26.

With Chris Bosh, the third member of the Heat’s leading  trio, chipping in with 20 points, it was the kind of night Heat  fans had hoped for after the franchise’s free agency coup.

Miami entered Monday’s game having lost four of their last  five games and with pressure mounting on coach Erik Spoelstra  amid speculation the players were unhappy with his methods.

“It is so easy for everyone to push the panic button right  now. Panic is probably at an all-time high on the outside. It  cannot be on the inside with us,” Spoelstra said before the  Heat improved to 10-8.

The Heat’s lackluster start to the season prompted talk  that team president Pat Riley, who won his fifth NBA title as a  coach in 2006 with Miami, would take over if Spoelstra could  not get the team’s season back on track.

But Spoelstra said he was not losing any sleep worrying  about his position.
“My job is to prepare this team and to get us ready for the  games and continue to help us get better. That keeps my days  full, and my nights.” said the third-year coach.

After signing James and Chris Bosh and securing the return  of Wade, the Heat were expected to challenge the Boston Celtics  for dominance in the East and battle the Los Angeles Lakers for  the NBA title.

But under intense media scrutiny, the Heat have failed to  click as a team and Saturday’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks  included an incident where James bumped into Spoelstra as he  walked to the team bench during a timeout.

The incident became an instant YouTube hit and prompted  plenty of media speculation, but Spoelstra and James dismissed  it as nothing more than an accident.

“It was really nothing,” said Spoelstra. “Incidental  contact … it wasn’t intentional or anything.”
James met with Spoelstra before Monday’s game and the NBA’s  two-time league MVP shot down reports of a rift.
“If I have something to say to Coach Spo, I’m going to go  to Coach Spo. If he has something to say to me, which he’s  done, he’s going to come to me,” said James.

“It is nothing I’ll take behind his back. I’ve never done  that, I will not do that.”
On court it was business as planned against a Wizards team  that dropped to 0-8 on the road this season.
Miami led 52-44 at halftime and the only signs of tension  came at the end of the third quarter when the Wizards’ Hilton  Armstrong and Miami’s Juwan Howard were ejected.