(Reuters) – Chris Bosh scored 17 of his season-high 35 points in the fourth quarter to supply the firepower for the Miami Heat in a 92-85 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday.
Bosh stole the spotlight even as Cleveland’s past met its future when LeBron James faced the Cavaliers’ number one overall draft choice Kyrie Irving.
The Heat are still without the injured Dwyane Wade and Cleveland stayed in touch throughout the game to trail by two midway through the final quarter before Bosh quickly converted a
three-point play and added a three-pointer to stretch the lead.
The visiting Cavs fought back again and twice pulled within three points in the final 13 seconds but Miami (12-5) clinched the game at the free-throw line, where Bosh finished a perfect
14-of-14.
“They kept coming to me, they showed trust in me,” Bosh told reporters of his big night. “I just wanted to make sure that I pulled the trigger without kind of hesitating.”
James added a quiet 18 points in a rematch with the team he left as a free agent in the 2010 off-season and the Heat improved to 7-1 without Wade, who remains out with a right ankle problem.
Irving, who leads all rookies in scoring this season, paced Cleveland (6-10) with 17 and Samardo Samuels added 15 but the visitors lost their fourth straight game.
Still, the Cavaliers have shown improvement after losing an Eastern Conference-worst 63 games last season.
“We stayed in the game for 48 minutes,” Cleveland coach Byron Scott said. “The only thing I’m disappointed in is the fact we had (20) turnovers and that’s killing our game.”
