Tune into Sun Sports at 10 p.m. to watch the Miami Heat take on the Portland Trail Blazers. NBA Heat territory.
The Miami Heat entered the All-Star break in the midst of their longest winning streak of the season.
After
what turned out to be an eventful weekend for their two best players,
the Heat look to pick up right where they left off as they begin a
three-game road swing Thursday night against the Portland Trail Blazers.
With
LeBron James and Dwyane Wade leading the way, Miami (27-7) has
outscored opponents by an average of 16.5 points during its eight-game
run. The dynamic duo helped shut down Jeremy Lin and New York during a
102-88 victory last Thursday to carry plenty of momentum into the break.
James
and Wade both excelled during the All-Star game, with James scoring an
East-high 36 points and Wade becoming just the third player to post an
All-Star game triple-double with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Both,
however, were heavily scrutinized during Sunday's affair. While James
was criticized for committing a turnover in the final seconds and not
trying to attempt the possible game-tying shot, Wade was bashed for a
hard foul on the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant, breaking his nose and
giving him a concussion in the process.
The Heat, however, don't
seem too concerned about what transpired over the weekend and are
looking forward to getting back to business.
"It's an All-Star
game. I mean, come on," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "It's a continuation
of the theater of the absurd. I don't even know if it's going to
motivate me to actually even look at it. I haven't seen it.
"There's
nothing we can do about it, about the extreme exaggeration about
everything that happens with our team. All we can focus on is us. And at
the end of the season, hopefully it ends the right way, and that'll
ultimately be the only way we can shut people up."
Miami split
last season's two-game series with the Trail Blazers (18-17), with each
team winning in the other's arena. James had 44 points and Wade 34 in a
107-100 overtime victory at the Rose Garden on Jan. 9, 2011.
James
is averaging 39.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists over his last
four trips to Portland, coming out on the winning side each time.
The
Blazers kicked off the second half of their season in disappointing
fashion, falling 104-95 at Denver on Wednesday. LaMarcus Aldridge had 20
points and nine boards while Jamal Crawford, making his second
consecutive start at point guard over Raymond Felton, scored 21.
Portland, though, was outrebounded 54-36, surrendering a season-worst 21 boards on the offensive glass.
"We
just got outworked. Right from the start, they outworked us, pounded us
on the boards, pounded us in the paint," coach Nate McMillan said.
"They wanted it more. Mentally, we've got to get stronger on the road,
playing games like this."
Returning home could help the Blazers
get back on track. Portland has outscored opponents by 12.7 points per
contest in going 13-5 on its own court.
After cruising to a 97-77
win over Atlanta on Feb. 18, McMillan's team blew out visiting San
Antonio - which was without Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili -
137-97 three days later.
The Blazers have followed up each of their previous three losses with wins.
