National Basketball Association

LeBron James, Dwyane Wade combine for 56 points to lead Heat past Suns

Published Nov. 25, 2013 12:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

LeBron James scored 35 points on only 14 shots from the field, Dwyane Wade added 21 points and 12 assists and the Miami Heat won their seventh straight game, beating the Phoenix Suns 107-92 on Monday night.

Ray Allen scored 17 points and Chris Andersen added an 11-point, seven-rebound night for the Heat, who have won 10 of 11 since their 1-2 start.

It was Wade's first 12-assist game since March 22, 2010.

Channing Frye led a balanced attack with 16 points for the Suns, who have dropped five of their last seven. Goran Dragic scored 14, Marcus Morris had 13, Markieff Morris and Gerald Green each added 12 and PJ Tucker finished with 10 for Phoenix.

And now, the Heat stand alone. Coming into Monday, they and the Suns were the only NBA teams who hadn't been handed a double-digit loss. Phoenix can't say that any longer, after falling to the Heat for a seventh straight time.

Phoenix's six losses before Monday were by a total of 27 points, and this one was close until the early portion of the fourth quarter when Miami found a way to pull away -- while James was getting another extended fourth-quarter rest, something Miami's had the luxury of doing often in recent games.

A 22-second flurry was all it really took. Allen made a 3-pointer off an assist from Wade, Roger Mason Jr. stole the ball from Phoenix's Archie Goodwin, and Wade set Allen up for another 3 with 9:56 left.

With that, the lead was 87-73, the outcome pretty much decided. A trio of fadeaway jumpers by James late in the game -- the first two swishing, the third one rattling off the rim a bit before falling -- helped keep the Suns at bay, capping his 11-of-14 shooting night.

James is now shooting 61 percent from the field for the season, and has gone 11 of 11 at the foul line in two of Miami's last three games. He had only gone 11 of 11 or better at the stripe four times in his first 10 NBA regular seasons, before the last few days.

Both teams were without their starting point guards. Mario Chalmers (strained hip flexor) was held out by Miami, and Eric Bledsoe (sore left shin) missed his fifth straight game for the Suns.

"Maybe Wednesday," Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said, guessing when Bledsoe could return.

For a while, the Suns were doing just fine without him again. More than a while, really.

They just couldn't sustain it the whole way.

There was minimal separation between the teams in the opening 24 minutes, with a 3-pointer by James with 0.6 seconds left before the break serving as the difference as Miami took a 50-47 lead into halftime.

Miami's lead was only 73-71 with 2:35 left in the third quarter when Marcus Morris took a pass from Markieff Morris and made a 3-pointer.

For whatever reason, that's when the Heat found their best groove.

James scored the first four points of what became a quick 8-0 run for the Heat, capped by Beasley -- whose contract was bought out by Phoenix for $7 million this summer -- scoring to open the fourth quarter and giving Miami an 81-71 lead. And that little burst was enough; the Suns weren't within eight points the rest of the way.

NOTES: Andy Garcia, Macklemore and Flo Rida were in attendance. ... Hornacek and Heat broadcaster John Crotty were teammates in Utah, chatting a bit before the game. ... Wade, handicapping which Heat player will eat the most food at the Thanksgiving dinner the team will share at James' home outside of Cleveland on Thursday: "Greg Oden." Wade said Joel Anthony used to be the front-runner in that department. ... Suns G Dionte Christmas once had a 29-point game on the Heat home court -- for Temple, in the 2009 NCAA tournament, his last college game; the Owls held James Harden to nine that day but lost to Arizona State.