Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers forward Luke Walton (4) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) drives to the basket against Cleveland Cavaliers forward Luke Walton (4) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem (40) shoots against Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving (2) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Tristan Thompson, right, looks for an opening past Miami Heat center Chris Bosh, left, and forward Udonis Haslem (40) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Cleveland Cavaliers center Tyler Zeller, left, and Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade battle for a loose ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
MIAMI (AP) ? LeBron James scored 28 points, Dwyane Wade scored 11 of his 24 in the final five minutes, and the Miami Heat extended the NBA's longest current winning streak to 11 games, beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-105 in a back-and-forth matchup Sunday night.
Mario Chalmers scored 16 points, Shane Battier added 14 and Ray Allen had 11 for the Heat, who took a 22-point lead early in the second half, then prevailed despite being outscored by a whopping 30 points over a 17-minute stretch.
Miami was down eight with 5:16 remaining, and still won.
Dion Waiters scored 26 points, C.J. Miles added 19 and Kyrie Irving scored 17 for Cleveland. The Cavaliers are now 1-8 against the Heat since James signed with Miami in July 2010.
Cleveland erased a 22-point deficit in the third quarter to take the lead, and led by 97-89 with 5:16 remaining ? before the Heat found a way to come back.
More specifically, before Wade found a way to come back.
Wade started what turned into a 16-4 run with a fadeaway with just under 5 minutes to go, then added a three-point play on the next Miami possession to cut the Cavs' lead to 97-94.
The Heat were back in business. And after Irving missed a layup with about 1:35 left, Wade got the rebound and wound up setting up Battier for a 3-pointer that put Miami on top again ? and for good.
From there, the Heat got a little bit of luck. Bosh set up James for what should have been an easy layup with about 40 seconds left. James somehow missed, and the ball wound up back in Bosh's hands, the Heat having a new shot clock. Wade wore it down, then drove the left side of the lane for a two-handed slam with 24.4 seconds to play, and Miami on top by four.
End result of James missing the easy one: Another 16 seconds coming off the clock, and Miami extending the lead to two-possession territory anyway.
Down 68-46 early in the third quarter, the Cavaliers looked finished ? last-place team, on the road, against the reigning NBA champions who just happened to have the league's longest current winning streak.
Midway through the third, Miami's lead was still 17.
With two minutes left in the period, the cushion was 10.
By the start of the fourth, it was nonexistent. The C.J. Miles Show lasted for all of 63 seconds. And they were a scintillating 63 seconds.
It starts with 1:35 left, a 3-pointer from Miles getting the Miami lead down to seven. Then he got a rebound, came downcourt and connected on another 3-pointer. Lead down to four. Another stop by the Cavs on one end, then another 3-pointer for Miles on the other ? that one coming both with him drawing a foul from Mario Chalmers, and with Heat coach Erik Spoelstra getting hit with a technical from referee Ed Malloy for arguing.
He made the technical free throw to tie the game, the free throw for the Chalmers hit to put the Cavs ahead, and they carried that 82-81 lead into the fourth, having closed the quarter on a 36-13 run.
Miami used a 23-4 run in the first half to take what looked like a commanding 42-22 lead ? with more than 9 minutes left until the break. The Heat then managed only one field goal in the span of about five minutes, giving Cleveland the chance claw back into things, which the Cavs did.
Thompson attacked the basket for a pair of scores, Waiters scored from close range as well, and the Cavs were suddenly within 48-41.
So Miami answered with another burst. James didn't miss in the final 4:29 of the half, scoring 10 points on a 4-for-4 run from the floor and fueling what became 16-5 spurt that gave Miami a 64-46 lead going into the locker room. And for good measure, Miami got the first two baskets of the second half, pushing the lead to 22, the biggest of the night.
Over, right?
Not even remotely close.
NOTES: Miami's two wins over Cleveland this season, both at home, have come by a combined six points. ... Heat F Mike Miller (ear infection) was back with the team Sunday, though did not play. "He can't hear anything we're saying," Spoelstra quipped before the game. ... The Heat held a moment of silence pregame for Los Angeles Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss, the moment ending with warm applause from the crowd. Heat President Pat Riley coached for Buss, and Cavaliers coach Byron Scott once played for the Lakers.
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