HEAT Blaze a Trail past Portland at home

By: Matt Blue

Every time we think we’ve seen it all from LeBron James, he does something else so astounding that it leaves us in awe of his all-around basketball skills, intelligence and instincts for the game. Against the Blazers Tuesday night, the King became the first player in NBA history to average at least 30 points on 60 percent shooting six straight times. This remarkable feat has never been done by the game’s previous and current greats. Yes we are all witnesses.

Not only was history made tonight, but the HEAT also took care of business against a quality Blazers team by a final of 117-104. Neither team was very interested in playing defense in this one. The score certainly reflects this assertion. However, offensively the HEAT fired on all cylinders and executed their half-court offense extremely well.

LeBron James scored 30 points on 11-15 shooting. Chris Bosh also had a tremendous night finishing with 32 points and 11 rebounds. Who said he couldn’t rebound? Dwyane Wade was also terrific, finishing with 24 points. This happened to be the HEAT’s 1,000^th regular season win in team history.

The Blazers dynamic trio of Wesley Matthews, LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard led the way for Portland. Lillard led all Portland scorers with 33 points, while Aldridge added 29 and Wesley Matthews finished with 20.

Despite the Blazers valiant efforts, the HEAT just proved to be way too much for Portland. Miami HEAT basketball was on display tonight which consisted of getting out in transition, finishing strong around the rim and picking defenses apart off the dribble and with sound ball movement.

MVP of the Game- LeBron James- He went into the record books tonight with another dazzling performance for the ages. When it’s all said and done, will we propel James ahead of Jordan? Right now it’s way too premature to make that comparison.

Lights out- Chris Bosh- Chris had a monster performance. The fact that he compiled 11 rebounds was very encouraging.

Tough Night: Blazers defense- The HEAT is the toughest team in the NBA to contain defensively mainly due to all of the explosive offensive weapons they have. We are talking about having to defend three superstar players and a bunch of capable outside shooters. Tonight they Blazers just looked befuddled defensively. How do you rotate against Miami? Basically you find yourself in a situation where you have to pick your poison and choose who is going to beat you. Because the bottom-line is that someone is going to beat you on the HEAT.

Game Note- Udonis Haslem left the game with a lower leg contusion in the first quarter. X rays on Haslem’s shin were negative.

NEXT UP: The HEAT will travel to Oklahoma City for a Valentine’s Day Matchup veruses the Thunder. The game starts at 8 PM on TNT