Unbeaten Heat burn Bobcats behind Bosh, Wade

By Paul Levine Jan 2, 2012, 6:45 GMT

Los Angeles - Last week they barely survived, but in the rematch, the Miami Heat thrived.

Chris Bosh collected 24 points and 10 rebounds, Dwyane Wade scored 22 and the Heat set a franchise record by opening the season at 5-0 after burning the visiting Charlotte Bobcats 129-90 on Sunday.

On Wednesday, Miami needed Wade's game-winning jumper with 2.9 seconds left to struggle past Charlotte, 96-95.

On New Year's day, the Heat dominated the defenceless Bobcats at American Airlines Arena, to celebrate 2012 with a resounding bang.

'We wanted to put together a game where we were dominant, on defence and on offence,' Bosh said. 'We wanted to really get back to our habits and play a complete basketball game, and I think we did that tonight.'

The reigning Eastern Conference Champions raced out to 65-37 halftime cushion behind 20 points from Bosh, and led by as many as 46 en route to the third largest blowout in club history.

NBA leading scorer LeBron James, who became engaged to his long- time girlfriend Savannah Brinson on New Year's Eve, along with Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole scored 16 apiece for Miami, which shot 60 per cent from the field in the start-to-finish spanking.

'Anytime you get an opportunity to put a team away, you try to go out there and take care of business,' James said. 'We did that tonight.'

DJ White scored 21 points for Charlotte, which has dropped three straight since opening the season with a win over Milwaukee.

'It was just one of those games where nothing went right,' Bobcats coach Paul Silas said. 'We played a very good team tonight. When a team shoots 60 per cent against you, you're not going to do very well.'

Elsewhere: Minnesota Timberwolves 99, Dallas Mavericks 82: Kevin Love had 25 points with 17 rebounds, Spanish rookie Ricky Rubio added 14 points with seven assists, and the Timberwolves closed on a 15-0 run in the final six minutes, to beat the reigning NBA Champion Mavericks for their first victory of the season.

German juggernaut Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 points for Dallas, which dropped to 1-4 on the season.

Chicago Bulls 104, Memphis Grizzlies 64: Carlos Boozer had 17 points with 11 rebounds, Ronnie Brewer also scored 17, and Bulls (4-1) won their home opener by routing the helpless Grizzlies.

Denver Nuggets 99, LA Lakers 90: Italy's Danilo Gallinari scored 20 points, Ty Lawson had 17 points and 10 assists and the Nuggets closed on an 11-0 run in the final 2 minutes 47 seconds, to snap the Lakers' three-game winning streak.

Spaniard Pau Gasol had 20 points with 11 rebounds, while Andrew Bynum accumulated 18 points and 16 rebounds for the Lakers, who took Saturday's opener of the home-and-away series.

LA Clippers 93, Portland Trail Blazers 88: Blake Griffin had 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Chris Paul scored 17, including the game-sealing layup with 9.3 seconds left, as the Clippers handed the Trail Blazers their first loss of the season.

Reserve Jamal Crawford tossed in 23 points and LaMarcus Aldridge finished with 19 for Portland, which fell to 3-1 in their first road game of the season.

Orlando Magic 102, Toronto Raptors 96: Ryan Anderson scored 24 points, while Dwight Howard added 19 with 15 rebounds, and the Magic rallied from 13 down in the final quarter for its fourth straight victory.

Italian-native Andrea Bargnani scored 28 points, while Spaniard Jose Calderon contributed 18 and 13 assists for the Raptors, who have dropped three in a row.

Boston Celtics 94, Washington Wizards 86: Kevin Garnett scored 24, while Rajon Rondo recorded a triple-double with 18 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds, as the visiting Celtics dropped the Wizards to 0-4 this season.

John Wall scored 19 for Washington, while JaVale McGee finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds.

Cleveland Cavaliers 98, New Jersey Nets 82: Antawn Jamison had 23 points, Daniel Gibson added 19, and the Cavaliers outscored the Nets, 55-33 in the second half, to hand the visitors their fourth straight loss.

Sacramento Kings 96, New Orleans Hornets 80: Tyreke Evans scored 27 points, Marcus Thornton added 25, and the short-handed Kings bounced the visiting Hornets.

The Kings stopped a three-game slide without DeMarcus Cousins, who was told to stay at home by coach Paul Westphal after demanding a trade before the game.