RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
MIAMI (AP) _ Miami Heat coach Pat Riley had nothing good to say
about his team's worst loss at its AmericanAirlines Arena. "I have been here six years and have taken a lot of hits, but I
have never felt so embarrassed for the team, the fans and myself as
I have tonight," Riley said after Wednesday night's 86-67 defeat
against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The poorest previous showing by the Heat at their two-year home
was a 100-89 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers last season on March
20. Matt Harpring scored all 11 of his points during the third
quarter, sparking a 15-2 run as Cleveland beat Miami for the first
time in their last nine meetings. "Our guys absolutely put nothing into the game whatsoever,"
Riley said. "I think Cleveland took us totally out of it but we
didn't bring anything, which is an embarrassment." Andre Miller led a balanced Cavaliers offense with 13 points.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 10 points and 12 rebounds, while Trajan
Langdon scored 12. The injury-depleted Heat _ without Eddie Jones (who has missed
four games with a strained right calf) and Alonzo Mourning (gone
for the season with a kidney ailment) _ shot 33 percent to
Cleveland's 51 percent. Miami's Tim Hardaway, bothered lately by a sore knee, went just
3-of-12 from the field for nine points. "They came in, took it to us and we didn't play hard enough,"
Hardaway said. "They beat us, that's all I got to say." Anthony Mason led the hosts with 16 points and nine rebounds. Harpring, who was 5-of-5 in the third quarter, knocked down two
consecutive jumpers and Miller scored on two drives to key the 15-2
quarter-ending run, giving the Cavs a 63-46 lead heading into the
fourth. "We played with a lot of energy tonight, from top to bottom,"
Harpring said. The Cavaliers led by as many as 23 points in the fourth quarter,
when the crowd filed out of the arena. Bruce Bowen scored five points during a 10-2 Heat run to cut
Cleveland's lead to 48-44 with 4:43 left in the third quarter. The Heat made just six of their first 34 shots and trailed 33-16
early in the second quarter. But Miami then went on an 11-0 run
capped by Hardaway's 3-pointer. Langdon drained a 3-pointer and Eddie House a long 2 to bring
Miami to within 36-29 at halftime. The Heat shot 26.2 percent from
the field in the first half, tying a season low. "That is probably as good of a sustained defensive effort as
we've played all season," Cavaliers coach Randy Wittman said. "I
thought that was the catalyst." Notes: Cleveland hadn't beaten the Heat since Feb. 10, 1998, at
Miami Arena. ... The teams play in Cleveland on Friday. ... The
game brought together three of the principals from last summer's
big trade involving these two teams: Brian Grant came from Portland
for Shawn Kemp, and the Heat sent Chris Gatling and Clarence
Weatherspoon to Cleveland. ... Heat guard Anthony Carter sat out
the second half because he has the flu. ... Hardaway missed his
first seven shots before hitting a 3-pointer with 1:15 left in the
second quarter. ... Miami's 12-point first quarter was a season-low
for any quarter by a Cavaliers' opponent and tied a season-low for
the Heat. ... The Cavs had one assist in the first quarter. ...
Cleveland's J.R. Reid did not dress due to tendinitis of both
knees.
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