Apparently, they do not mind.

LeBron James scored 29 points, Dwyane Wade added 19 and the Heat extended their winning streak to 25 games by pulling away in the second half and beating the Detroit Pistons 103-89 on Friday night.

Miami trailed by as much as 11 in the first half before moving within eight of tying the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers for the longest winning streak in NBA history. The Heat also won at home for the 16th straight time.

“We don’t get caught up in things like that, saying that we’re untouchable,” said James, who also finished with eight assists and eight rebounds. “We know we can be beat by anybody, any night, if we don’t come in with the mindset to play our game.”

Maybe they don’t always come in with that mindset in perfect order, but the Heat clearly find a way to get to that place. Just this week alone, they rallied from 17 points down to win at Boston, then pulled off the wild 27-point, second-half comeback to prevail at Cleveland.

No real dramatics were needed Friday, especially after Miami allowed only 35 points after halftime.

“We were a little flat in the first half,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “But in the second half, the urgency was much better, created a lot more opportunities off of our defense. I liked the way we finished the game.”

Miami’s magic number for clinching the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference is now three. The Heat also remained 1 1/2 games up on San Antonio, which needed overtime to beat Utah, for the league’s best record.

Greg Monroe finished with 23 points and 15 rebounds for Detroit, which dropped its 10th straight game. Jose Calderon had 18 points and seven assists, most of that coming in the first half for the Pistons, who also got 18 points and eight rebounds from Kyle Singler.

“The effort was there,” Calderon said. “I thought we played pretty for almost the whole game. When they came out for the second half, they looked like a different team out there. … They tweaked their game plan and it was a bit more difficult to make some baskets. They were more aggressive.”

That’s because they had to be that way. James said Detroit caught Miami off-guard in the first half with some sets. A quick halftime adjustment or two, and the reigning champions looked like reigning champions again.

“It doesn’t matter who we’re playing. This time of year, it’s going to be a dangerous team,” Spoelstra said. “It’s going to be a team absolutely urgent, desperate for a playoff position or a team with nothing to lose, no pressure. Either way, you have to impose your will.”

That did not happen, at least not in the early going.

For the fifth time in the last six games, the Heat trailed after the first quarter. Detroit made 12 of its first 18 shots — 67 percent — and took a 28-20 lead fueled by an 8-0 run late in the opening period.

Detroit’s lead went to 11 in the second quarter, with Calderon making all three of his field goal attempts, all from 3-point range. He wound up with 16 points and six assists at halftime, just the second player to have a first-half stat line like that against the Heat this season. There were times it seemed Detroit was getting whatever it wanted.

Nonetheless, the Heat were down just 54-51 at the break.

“You knew they were going to make a run,” Monroe said. “That’s what this league is all about. It’s about withstanding them.”

On that front, the Pistons couldn’t keep pace. Detroit scored 28 points in the first quarter, 26 more in the second — and 22 in the first 19 minutes of the second half.

A lull like that was just too much to overcome, especially when the Heat took off on a 19-8 run to start the fourth quarter and put away the game.

After getting fouled in the open floor and playfully crashing into the basket support midway through the fourth, James took a playful swing at Wade and clearly seemed relaxed even though the Heat were up by only nine.

It was like he knew the capper was on the way. When play resumed, James set Wade up for a basket that gave Miami its first double-digit lead of the night, then threaded a pocket pass to Chris Bosh for a three-point play and a 90-76 lead with 5:47 remaining.

James walked to the far end of the floor, popped out his mouth guard and watched the replay on the overhead video board, then exhaled deeply.

“We were in our groove, both offensively and defensively,” James said. “I kind of felt like it was at a point where we could kind of break it open.”

The streak lived. Again.

Game notes

Heat G Ray Allen got three stitches in his lower lip. The Heat aren’t sure if he will miss any game time. Miami next plays Sunday at home against Charlotte. … James picked up his fourth straight Eastern Conference player of the month award, this one for February, in a brief halftime ceremony. … The Heat signed F Juwan Howard for the remainder of the season Friday. … South Florida native Brandon Knight (left ankle) remained sidelined for Detroit. … The Heat played a tribute video to the Atlantic Coast Conference champion Miami Hurricanes during the game, along with highlights of their NCAA tournament win from earlier Friday. … Pistons reserve Kim English fouled out with 23.5 seconds left in the third quarter with no points in 12:05 of playing time. The only other players with a zero-point, six-foul night in fewer minutes this season are New York’s Kurt Thomas (9:40) and Toronto’s Amir Johnson (9:26). … Golf’s Greg Norman was in attendance, along with child abuse prevention advocate Lauren Book, who’s on her annual awareness walk from Key West to Tallahassee.

The post Heat rally after slow start, push streak to 25 by topping Pistons appeared first on IdealCapper.

But LeBron James wouldn’t give up.

“That guy right there doesn’t want to lose in this building,” teammate Dwyane Wade said, nodding toward James, who left many angry Cavaliers fans behind when he bolted for Miami as a free agent three years ago. “Not tonight.”

James scored 25 points as the Heat overcame a 27-point deficit in the third quarter and won their 24th straight game, 98-95 over the short-handed Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night to extend the second-longest winning streak in NBA history.

The Heat are within nine games of matching the record of 33 consecutive wins held by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers. Once believed to be untouchable, the mark is now within reach.

James and his teammates have insisted the record isn’t one of their goals, and for more than 30 minutes the defending champions seemed disinterested and on the verge of losing for the first time since Feb. 1. Miami trailed 67-40 with 7:44 left in the third quarter.

But behind the irrepressible James, who added 12 rebounds and 10 assists in 42 minutes, the Heat inched closer to history and matched the NBA’s biggest comeback this season, according to STATS.

“This was one of the most bizarre, unique days of my life with everything that happened,” said James, referring to a homecoming in which a fan ran onto the floor and the opening tip was delayed 35 minutes by a leaky scoreboard. “It also was one of the best comebacks I’ve ever been a part of.”

James had 14 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals in the fourth as Miami rallied to win for the second game in a row. The Heat were down 17 points — 13 in the fourth quarter — and stormed back to beat Boston 105-103 on Monday and surpass the 2007-08 Houston Rockets for the second-longest streak in NBA history.

“I knew there was a lot of time, so we never panicked,” James said. “We were down 27 with 18 minutes left. That’s a lifetime in basketball.”

Although the Cavs were missing All-Star guard Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters and Anderson Varejao — their top three scorers — they pushed Miami to the limit.

It wasn’t until James, playing his fourth game back in Cleveland since leaving, made two free throws with 4.7 seconds left that Miami could relax, but just a little. The Cavs had one last chance to tie it, but C.J. Miles was long with a 3-pointer in the final second, letting Miami off the hook.

Following the game, James stopped to sign a few autographs as he made his way to Miami’s locker room. This was much tougher than he and the Heat could have imagined. The win also completed a five-game road trip, dubbed “The Reunion Tour” by James because Miami visited Wade’s home in Milwaukee, Chris Bosh’s former team in Toronto and Ray Allen’s in Boston.

“The streak wasn’t on my mind, but us getting blown out was,” James said. “I was going to be the only guy to take an ‘L’ on the reunion tour.”

Mario Chalmers added 17 points and Wade had 11 for the Heat, who outscored the Cavs 30-18 in the fourth quarter and 64-40 in the second half.

Wayne Ellington had 20 points and Tristan Thompson 18 for Cleveland, which went from a stunning upset to blowing the biggest lead in a loss in franchise history.

“We knew it was coming,” Thompson said of the Heat’s comeback. “They were the NBA champions last season. They’re not going to lay down. Champions don’t lay down even when they’re down by 27. We knew they were going to make a push. Guys went out and made plays, so you have to give them credit.”

Down by nine to open the fourth, the Heat were up 95-86 with 3:02 left and seemed to have the Cavaliers on the ropes.

But Cleveland bounced back and closed to 96-95 on Thompson’s two free throws with 44 seconds to go. Wade then missed a jumper, but Ellington misfired on a step-back 23-footer with 5.2 seconds to go.

James was fouled and the reigning MVP, with a sellout crowd of 20,562 roaring, stepped to the line and dropped both free throws to make it 98-95.

Miles was contested on his final shot, and once it clanked off the rim, the Heat headed home with a chance to extend their streak to 25 on Friday against Detroit.

This game had a little of everything, including a fan running on the floor in the fourth quarter. The young man was wearing a T-shirt that said: “We Miss You, 2014 Come Back,” a reference to James’ possible free agency and return to Cleveland, where he played seven seasons.

James went out of his way and patted the fan on the head as security rushed him off the floor.

“He said he missed me and come back, please,” James said. “It happened once before in (Madison Square) Garden, so I wasn’t worried. There are metal detectors here, so we were OK. I embraced it.”

The start of the game was delayed because of a spill on the floor caused by condensation from a carbon dioxide container inside the scoreboard.

James scored eight straight points to open the fourth, hitting a 3-pointer to tie it 77-all. He then turned toward the crowd and delivered an icy stare, his way of saying, ‘OK, enough is enough.’

“When he made that one and turned to the crowd,” Wade said, “you knew it was coming.”

Game notes

Starting with the Cavs, Miami’s next 10 games are against opponents with a combined winning percentage of just .399. … The Heat play the Pistons and Charlotte at home before going to Orlando, Chicago, New Orleans and San Antonio. … It was the first time Miami overcame a 21-point halftime deficit to win. … The Cavs will wait a week before they evaluate Waiters, who has loose cartilage, and decide whether he needs surgery. Cleveland coach Byron Scott hopes his young guard comes back in the final month. “If he gets back, I’ll be thrilled to death,” Scott said. … Miami’s three wins over Cleveland this season have been by a total of nine points.

The post LeBron James posts triple-double as Heat rally, up streak to 24 appeared first on IdealCapper.

The defending Stanley Cup champions are on another roll, and the chemistry they developed during last year’s title run is starting to show.

Kopitar scored on a slick pass from King with 4:48 to play, and Los Angeles rallied from a third-period deficit for its fifth straight victory, 2-1 over the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night.

Los Angeles is on its longest winning streak of the season, capturing seven of eight overall after a 3-5-2 start to its title defense. Jonathan Bernier made 32 saves for the Kings, who are succeeding with the formula that won the Cup last season: stellar goaltending backed by opportunistic offense from all four lines.

“I think we’re putting together a pretty good streak here, and we’ve got to keep it going,” Kopitar said. “We know we had a bit of a slow start and we’ve got some catching up to do.”

One day after trading seven-time, 20-goal scorer Simon Gagne to Philadelphia for a conditional draft pick, the Kings began with 50 scoreless minutes against Jimmy Howard, who stopped 27 shots.

The Kings finally tied it with 9:34 left on Jeff Carter’s goal during a two-man advantage. King then made a spinning pass from the boards in front to Kopitar, who beat Howard for his sixth goal of the season.

Late goals from two veteran stars thrilled the sellout crowd at Staples Center, where the Kings completed an unbeaten February run — albeit in just four home games. Los Angeles also avenged a last-minute loss to the Wings in Detroit 17 days earlier.

“We thought we deserved better in Detroit, so maybe it all comes down to the hockey god, right?” Kings coach Darryl Sutter asked. “I don’t think we had much in the tank, to be honest. The goaltender was the difference in the game.”

Except for a misadventure with his glove on Quincey’s goal, Bernier was outstanding in the backup goalie’s fourth consecutive victory since Feb. 2.

Kyle Quincey scored his first goal of the season on a misplay by Bernier in the first period, and the mistake was the only thing that prevented the Red Wings from getting shut out for the first time since their season opener.

The Red Wings had won two straight after an 0-3-2 skid, but Detroit blew a 40-minute lead for just the second time in nine games this season, while the Kings rallied from a two-period deficit for the second time this year.

“I’ve got to give us a chance to win, but it wasn’t enough,” Howard said. “We were playing a great road game there. We were just grinding it out and making smart plays. (But it) doesn’t matter who you play, you can’t be giving up three 5-on-3s.”

Center Johan Franzen returned to Detroit’s lineup after missing seven games with a hip injury, and defenseman Brendan Smith returned from an 11-game absence with an injured shoulder. Quincey also returned after missing the past two games with an injured ankle.

Red Wings coach Mike Babcock used the injury turnover to shake up his lineup, benching defensemen Ian White and Kent Huskins.

“We built on our last game there with a lot of movement, a lot of shots,” captain Henrik Zetterberg said. “Only thing we didn’t have is goals.”

Detroit dominated play early and scored on a comical misplay by Bernier. After King gave away the puck, Quincey’s high shot toward the net popped out of Bernier’s glove and arced over his head, falling softly into the goal behind him.

Quincey hadn’t registered a point in 17 games this season, and hadn’t scored a goal since last March 19 against Washington.

Los Angeles showed more spark later, but its oft-struggling power play had a particularly low moment in the second period after three consecutive Red Wings penalties. Given two full minutes of 5-on-3 play, the Kings barely threatened Howard and the Detroit defensemen, who got a loud ovation from the red-clad fans crowding the lower bowl.

But the Kings got another 5-on-3 advantage midway through the third period when Pavel Datsyuk received a rare minor penalty for a faceoff violation, and Carter deflected Mike Richards’ shot through Howard’s legs for his 11th goal.

Carter scored a goal in his fifth straight game, one short of the longest streak of his career.

Game notes

Los Angeles LW Dustin Penner played in his 500th NHL game. He recently took the lineup spot of Gagne, who hadn’t scored a goal in 11 games this season. … Detroit D Carlo Colaiacovo is expected to return from a shoulder injury Sunday, which would put nine defensemen on the Red Wings roster. … Irish forward Robbie Keane attended the game along with most of the two-time defending MLS champion Los Angeles Galaxy, who begin their regular season Sunday.

The post Kings overcome late deficit vs. Red Wings to win fifth straight game appeared first on IdealCapper.

Matt Moulson scored a goal and assisted on another, Evgeni Nabokov stopped 37 shots, and the Islanders dominated listless Pittsburgh 4-1 on Tuesday night.

John Tavares scored for the second straight game for New York while Michael Grabner collected his fourth goal of the season and Casey Cizikas found the net for the first time in his career.

“I don’t consider any win easy but we came out and played the game we wanted to play, and I think we didn’t make the game easy for them,” Tavares said.

The Islanders have won three straight against the Penguins dating back to last season, their longest winning streak in the series in more than five years.

Two of those victories have come on the road, something New York hadn’t done in Pittsburgh since 2002.

While the Islanders aren’t getting too far ahead of themselves just six games into the season, the way they dominated a team considered a Stanley Cup favorite is a welcome confidence boost following a late collapse in a loss to Winnipeg on Sunday.

“I’m sure nobody gave us much of a chance against a really good hockey team, but you know what I thought systematically we were a little more structured, over the last game for sure,” coach Jack Capuano said. “We were a little more sound in a lot of areas tonight.”

Pascal Dupuis scored with just more than a minute remaining to avoid the shutout but it wasn’t nearly enough to keep the Penguins from losing for the third time in their past four games.

Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 13 shots before being pulled after the second period. Fleury and backup Tomas Vokoun received little help from Pittsburgh’s defense. The Penguins gave it away 11 times, with two of the turnovers leading to New York goals.

“I’m not sure if we’re pressing early, and then it doesn’t happen and you get away from things,” Pittsburgh center Sidney Crosby said. “As you see tonight, we get a couple bad bounces, ended up down early and seems like we let that frustration kind of get to us.”

The Penguins had scored first in each of their five games this season, but Cizikas gave the Islanders a well-earned early lead by stealing the puck from Paul Martin deep in Pittsburgh’s zone, then swooping behind the net and wrapping it around an outstretched Fleury.

The goal served as an exclamation point on a period the Islanders dominated in a place where they rarely win. New York went in a loser in 13 of its previous 14 visits to Pittsburgh, the victory a 5-3 triumph last March that derailed any hopes the Penguins had of catching the New York Rangers for the Atlantic Division title.

Pittsburgh expects to be in the mix again during this truncated 48-game season but has hit an early rough patch that left the largest crowd in the brief history of Consol Energy Center voicing its displeasure following another disjointed effort.

The Penguins were drummed 5-2 by Toronto in the home opener last Wednesday and appeared no sharper six days later against another young, quick team that flustered Pittsburgh with its forechecking.

“We want to be a team that plays with pace and (is) tough to play against, and make teams come out of their own end and play a full 200-foot game,” Tavares said. “When we’re skating and getting on the forecheck, that’s when we’re most successful and that’s what we’ve been doing, and I think that was evident tonight.”

Not that the Penguins needed any help giving it away.

The Islanders went up 2-0 at 6:46 of the second period when Pittsburgh defenseman Deryk Engelland misplayed a New York clearing attempt at the blue line.

The puck bounced off Engelland’s stick and the speedy Grabner pounced, beating two Penguins up the ice, then flicking a wrist shot that deflected off Fleury’s glove and into the net.

The goal seemed to briefly energize Pittsburgh, which spent the next five minutes buzzing Nabokov. All the pressure failed to produce a goal, and a pair of power-play tallies by the Islanders late in the period put New York firmly in control.

Tavares wristed a pretty cross-ice pass from Moulson by Fleury to make it 3-0, and Moulson scored less than two minutes later, collecting a long shot off the end boards and stuffing it by a foundering Fleury.

The goaltender actually fell on his rear after the initial shot and failed to get up before Moulson stuffed it by him, a fitting ending to a maddening night.

Nabokov had no such problems. He improved to 10-2 lifetime against Pittsburgh, which went 0-for-3 on the power play, including a fruitless 5 minutes spanning the second and third periods after New York’s Colin McDonald was hit with a boarding penalty and a game misconduct for his hit on Penguins defenseman Ben Lovejoy.

“We definitely deflated ourselves with the power play,” Pittsburgh’s James Neal said. “But we’ve just got to have a better effort all over the ice, 5-on-5 and we just didn’t have it tonight.”

Game notes

Islanders F Jesse Joensuu is out five to seven weeks after having sports hernia surgery. Joensuu sustained the injury while playing in Europe during the NHL lockout … Pittsburgh D Matt Niskanen is day to day with a right foot injury … The Penguins announced earlier Tuesday that Consol Energy Center will host the second USA Hockey All-American Prospects game Sept. 26, 2013. … The Islanders play at New Jersey on Thursday while the Penguins play in New York against the Rangers.

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