– The Miami Heat played so well early they didn’t need a halftime meeting, which was exactly the plan. In a worthy warmup for Dwyane Wade’s jersey retirement ceremony, the Heat broke a 23-year-old franchise record for points in the first half en route to a 124-105 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday.
Miami shot 77% in the first half and then turned the stage over to Wade, whose No. 3 jersey was hoisted to the rafters.
The ceremony was part of a three-day celebration of Wade’s career that included three NBA titles with Miami. Miami made its first nine shots and led 38-32 after one quarter. Then Wade made a grand entrance to take his seat in the first row across from the home team bench, and the Heat really stepped on the gas.
They went 15 for 17 in the second period, outscoring the Cavs 44-20 for an 82-52 lead at the half.
“They just wore us down,” Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “The way they were creating shots — and they were open shots, too — we made some mistakes on some switches and we allowed some guys to get free.”
Cedi Osman led Cleveland with 19 points. The Heat earned their eighth consecutive victory against the Cavs, including three this season, and have beaten Cleveland 18 times in a row in Miami.