Miami Heat Visit Cleveland Cavaliers: Game 31 Preview

Tonight, the Miami Heat visit the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. This is the third and final game this season between the Cavs and the Heat, and the only one in Ohio.

Miami is finishing up a six game road tilt. They lost the first game to the Orlando Magic, 102-89 before beating the Washington Wizards, 106-89, the Atlanta Hawks, 107-87, the Milwaukee Bucks, 114-96, and the Indiana Pacers, 105-90 on Tuesday. On the current four game winning streak, the Heat have scored at least 105 points in each game and allowed no more than 96 to any opponent, winning by an average of 17.5 points per game.

After tonight's game, they return to the American Airlines Arena for a three game homestand, featuring the Orlando Magic on Sunday, the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday, and the New York Knicks on Thursday.

Cleveland is in the fifth game of a nine game homestand. They beat the Los Angeles Clippers, 99-92 last Wednesday, lost to the Milwaukee Bucks, 113-112 in overtime on Friday, lost to the Philadelphia 76ers, 99-94 on Saturday and beat the Indiana Pacers, 98-87 on Wednesday.

They continue on to host the Sacramento Kings, the Detroit Pistons, the New Orleans Hornets, and the Boston Celtics. Miami is 11-5 on the road, while Cleveland is 6-7 at home.

The teams last faced each other on February 7th in Miami. Dwayne Wade scored 26 points with six assists to lead Miami to a 107-91 victory. LeBron James added 24 points with five rebounds and six assists.

Antawn Jamison led Indiana with 25 points with nine boards and Anderson Varejao added 11 points and 11 rebounds in the loss. Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra talked about the Cavaliers after the game,

"The final score was not indicative about how competitive and close that game was. That team is improved. They play hard, they compete. They're a tough team to put away. We did some things well on both ends of the court, but we did some things to allow them extra possessions to get back into the game."

NBA Cleveland Cavaliers Vs Miami Heat Highlights Feb 7, 2012 Game Recap (via TheNBAIndia)

The Heat beat the Indiana Pacers, 105-90 on Tuesday night. LeBron James scored 23 points with nine rebounds and seven assists to lead the Heat. Norris Cole tied his career high with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Coach Spoelstra remarked in the historic occasion of winning three consecutive road games on three nights, which hasn't happened since the Phoenix Suns pulled off the feat in 1979.

"Our guys wanted this challenge and we were well aware it had not been done in 40 years, to go back-to-back to-back on the road, be able to stay focused. We threw out anything we could have used as a crutch."

Miami Heat Vs Indiana Pacers 2-14-12 Highlights HD (via MsGeneration88)

The Cavs beat the Pacers, 98-87 on Wednesday night. Cleveland was led by Kyrie Irving, who returned from a concussion to score 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting with five assists. Semih Erden added 18 in the victory.

For the Pacers, Darren Collison led five players in double figures with 18 and Delonte West finished with a double double, with 10 points and 10 boards in the loss. Irving talked about his concussion after the game,

"Just because I had a concussion, my game wasn't going to change. I was still going to be aggressive and attack the basket. But I did kind of limit myself from going in the paint for rebounds, quite honestly, because I didn't want to go in there with all the tall trees."

Indiana Pacers Vs Cleveland Cavaliers 2-15-12 NBA Highlights HD (via nbahighlights9999)

Standings

Miami: 23-7, first in the Southeast Division, second in the Eastern Conference, second in the NBA, on pace for 51-15. Last five: L-W-W-W-W

Cleveland: 11-16, fourth in the Central Division, 10th in the Eastern Conference, 22nd in the NBA, on pace for 27-39. Last five: L-W-L-L-W

Season series: Miami, 2-0

All-time series: Miami, 47-39

GameTime: 7:30 ET