Heat 103, T’wolves 101

MINNEAPOLIS — Dwyane Wade wasn’t about to let the Minnesota Timberwolves spoil LeBron James’ birthday.

Wade hit a jumper from the wing, then scored on an inbounds pass from James with 4.6 seconds to play to lift the undefeated Heat to a 103-101 victory over the Wolves on Friday night.

Playing on a sore foot, Wade finished with 19 points, while James had 34 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds on his 27th birthday.

Ricky Rubio had 12 points, 12 assists and six rebounds, and Kevin Love had 25 points and 12 boards for the Timberwolves, who led 100-99 with 55 seconds to play.

But Wade hit a jumper and then lost Rubio on an inbounds play to make the winning bucket, one game after beating Charlotte with a last-second shot.

It was a crushing defeat for the upstart Wolves, who had the mighty Heat on the ropes all fourth quarter thanks to Rubio’s brilliance. The Spanish rookie fed open teammates for easy buckets and hit a 3-pointer with 2:28 to play that gave them a 98-94 lead.

But James scored on a crucial three-point play and Anthony Tolliver missed two key free throws in the final minute to give Wade a chance to steal it.

Bucks 102, Wizards 81

MILWAUKEE — Brandon Jennings scored 15 of his 22 points in the second half to lead Milwaukee over winless Washington. Jordan Crawford led Washington (0-3) with 24 points.

Mavs 99, Raptors 86

DALLAS — Reserve center Ian Mahinmi scored a career-high 19 points, Dirk Nowitzki contributed 18, and the reigning NBA champion Mavericks rallied for their first win of the season.

Jason Terry added 17 points for the Mavericks (1-3).

Andrea Bargnani scored 30 points for the Raptors.

suns 93, Hornets 78

NEW ORLEANS — Hakim Warrick scored 18 points in a reserve role, and Phoenix won for the first time.

Channing Frye added 10 points and 16 rebounds for the Suns. Carl Landry led New Orleans with 17 points.

hawks 105, nets 98

ATLANTA — Jeff Teague scored 22 points, Joe Johnson added 21 and the Atlanta Hawks won their third straight.

Deron Williams finished with 23 points and rookie MarShon Brooks added 21 to lead the Nets who have dropped three straight.

celtics 96, pistons 85

BOSTON — Jermaine O’Neal scored 19 points as Boston won its home opener.

Ray Allen and Brandon Bass added 17 points apiece for Boston and Paul Pierce had 12 in his debut after being sidelined with a bruised right heel.

Greg Monroe had 22 points for Detroit, which fell to 0-3.

pacers 98, cavs 91 (OT)

INDIANAPOLIS — Danny Granger scored nine of his 22 points in overtime to help Indiana beat Cleveland.

Granger shot just 5 of 17 in regulation, but was 3 of 5 in the extra period.

Rookie guard Kyrie Irving led Cleveland with 20 points in his best game so far, but missed a layup that would have won the game at the end of regulation.

magic 100, bobcats 79

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Dwight Howard had 20 points and 24 rebounds, Ryan Anderson scored 23 points, and Orlando won its third straight.

Corey Maggette led Charlotte (1-2) with 20 points.

jazz 102, 76ers 99

SALT LAKE CITY– Derrick Favors scored a career-high 20 points and added 11 rebounds in his first start for Utah, and the Jazz beat Philadelphia in their home opener.

Favors started at center for Utah in place of Al Jefferson, who did not play because of an inflamed right ankle.

Playing LeBron James any day of the year is enough to make most opponents break out in cold sweats in the middle of the night.

Be one of the unfortunate teams to get a game against King James on his birthday, and you know you’re in for a long night.

James turned a ripe old 27 on Friday, and the Miami Heat star says he always plays with a little extra juice on his birthday.

“My birthday and my mom’s birthday are the two days I feel real, real good about playing basketball,” James said on Friday morning after the team’s shootaround. “I’ve had the luxury of having games on my birthday and my mom’s birthday so we’ll see what happens.”

That could be bad news for the Minnesota Timberwolves. The undefeated Heat play at Target Center in the fifth time in James’ nine seasons that he has played on his birthday.

In four previous birthday games, James has averaged 35.3 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.0 assists. He’s also shot 55 percent from the field and 45 percent from 3-point range.

So what gets into him on those days?

“You know my birthday when I turned 15 or I turned 9, when I was growing up, it wasn’t the best of days on my birthday,” he said. “To see where I am today, and to be able to turn 21 and be in the NBA and turn 22 and now turn 27 and be a part of this league, it’s a testament. It’s also I’m very humbled that I am able to be here and I’m very blessed.”

James’ best birthday performance came in 2009 when he had 48 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in a victory over Atlanta while he was still with the Cleveland Cavaliers. That’s also the only time he’s headed home for his birthday cake with a victory.

James had 38 points and seven assists in a loss to Miami in 2008, 33 points and nine boards against Chicago in 2006 and 22 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in a loss to Indiana as a rookie in 2003.

“It’s amazing how many games he gets on his birthday, I’ll tell you that,” Heat star Dwyane Wade said. “He’s had a lot of games on his birthday. The schedule works that way.”

James is playing some of the best basketball of his career early this season for the Heat, who are coming off a disappointing NBA finals loss to the Dallas Mavericks last season. He’s averaging 32.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists in his first three games, and has developed a low-post game to boot.

“He’s been playing exceptionally well,” Wade said. “He’s in a different mind state right now. I expect him to continue the mind state he’s in.

“You can’t always know what that is going to result to, but he always enjoys certain moments. It’s a special moment when you get an opportunity to play on this day. The biggest thing is to try to come out and lead us to a win.”

James said the best birthday present he ever received was the Hummer SUV his mother bought him when he turned 18.

The Timberwolves had their own birthday treat for James when they shut down guard J.J. Barea for the game with a strained right hamstring. The super-quick Barea hurt the Heat in the NBA finals last season and was a major reason the Mavs were able to pull off the upset.

Asked if he will miss chasing Barea around, James didn’t hesitate: “Absolutely not.”

___

Follow Jon Krawczynski on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/APkrawczynski.

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—

The air of invincibility that had permeated the Miami Heat’s first two games was absent at the start. In its place was a quick 11-0 deficit.

Dwyane Wade then was absent at the start of the second half with a foot injury.

Gone, but not forgotten.

Regaining his legs, or at least enough of them, Wade banked in a short push shot with 2.9 seconds to play to close out the scoring in a 96-95 victory Wednesday night over the Charlotte Bobcats at Time Warner Cable Arena.

It was a somewhat surprising finish, one achieved after a Gerald Henderson 3-pointer with 12.2 seconds to play had put the Bobcats up by one, because it was Wade who was designated as the go-to guy on a night LeBron James led the Heat with 35 points.

Wade, who had bruised his left foot and missed the first 10 minutes of the third period, was 4 of 12 from the field before his game-winning play.

“When he called it,” Wade said of coach Erik Spoelstra’s instructions, “I was surprised, because LeBron had it going.”

Wade, in fact, was about to tell Spoelstra that it should be James’ play, then decided he was up to the moment.

Barely, with his left foot throbbing.

“I had no lift,” the veteran guard said, “that’s why I shot-putted it.”

For most of the night, it appeared the Heat had no lift, falling behind by 16 in the first half, then losing Wade at the start of the third quarter.

But there was enough in support to push the record to 3-0, from James’ 35 points, seven assists and six rebounds, to 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting from forward Chris Bosh, to a needed 15-point outing from point guard Mario Chalmers and lockdown defense from Shane Battier in his longest outing of the season.

“You’ve got to win some of these games ugly,” Spoelstra said. “We settled down.”

The Heat held the Bobcats to 10 third-quarter points to get back into it and then rode the aggression of Bosh and James in the fourth until Wade had his moment.

Wade’s moment came after both he and James botched dunks, although James’ attempt should have counted since it bounced off Henderson’s head and back out after clearing the rim. James joked he would appeal to the league for his lost points.

But with the game on the line, it was Wade’s to win or lose.

Spoelstra said it was not because of Wade’s clutch reputation, or James’ fourth-quarter struggles that had carried over to this season, but rather because he saw an opening on the same set that seconds earlier had resulted in a Wade turnover.

“We saw him able to put the ball on the floor,” Spoelstra said. “He had a rough night at times, but he saw a gap he could get into.”

The game ended with a missed 3-point attempt by Bobcats guard D.J. Augustin and then a wayward follow-up attempt by Bobcats forward D.J. White that was ruled after the buzzer.

“It’s good to see us show some resolve, some toughness,” Spoelstra said.

That resolve and toughness arrived when needed most.

“The first half,” James said, “wasn’t Miami Heat basketball.”

The Heat entered having trailed just 14 seconds this season. That figure grew exponentially, with Charlotte bolting to that 11-0 lead, moving ahead 32-20 after the first quarter and 60-45 at halftime.

Playing on the second night of their first back-to-back set of the season, the Heat hardly had the legs that powered a dazzling transition attack in the season-opening victories over the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics.

With Wade out at the start of the third quarter, James decided it had to be his style of basketball, consistently attacking the rim.

“I decided to add a little bit more,” he said, continuing his torrid scoring start to the season.

In the end, though, he stood aside, waiting and watching Wade win it.

“I guess,” James said with a grin, “that’s why they pay him the big bucks.”

iwinderman@tribune.com. Follow him at twitter.com/iraheatbeat

DALLAS —
Dwyane Wade did two things on the basketball court Sunday for the first time in his life.

First, there was the fantastically instinctual tip-pass, alley-oop from LeBron James that Wade finished with a two-handed dunk. Wade had never seen anything like it before Sunday, let alone participated in such split-second magic. Even the Mavericks’ fans had to gasp in awe after that one.

Then the buzzer sounded and Wade, for the first time, defeated the Mavericks on their home court during the regular season. The Heat’s 105-94 victory over the defending NBA champions was Miami’s first win in Dallas during the regular season since March 2002.

Wade downplayed the significance of the Heat’s win, calling it “just one game,” but he said nearly everything felt familiar about his team despite the long break during the lockout. That’s a good sign given the NBA’s frantic schedule between now and the playoffs, which will leave little time for practices.

“We’re a little bit more together,” Wade said. “We’re getting into our game a little. We’re just more comfortable with each other.”

Never was that familiarity more apparent than during the fast break in the third quarter that ended in the Chalmers-to-James-to-Wade alley-oop. The play already could be considered a contender for best of the season — never mind it occurring in the first game.

The sequence went like this:

Mario Chalmers stripped Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki and Wade gathered the loose ball to begin the fastbreak. Wade passed the ball back to Chalmers, who rushed forward across midcourt and lobbed an alley-oop to LeBron James, who was sprinting down the opposite wing.

The alley-oop was well defended, denying James the dunk. Instead of attempting a poor shot, James spotted Wade in his periphery and, in mid air, tipped a pass to his trailing teammate. Wade, uncovered, finished the play with a dunk.

“When [Chalmers] threw it, obviously Shawn Marion had great position, so I thought to myself, ‘Oh, wait. I know LeBron. I know how intelligent he is.’ I said, ‘Oh wait. I think he might tip it to me.’

“So, I kept running and he did. I’ve never been on the end of that one, so that was a first for me.”

James finished with six assists to go along with 10 rebounds and 37 points, 15 of which came in the third quarter.

He was 15 of 19 from the free-throw line and had two blocks and two steals.

The Heat led by 32 points entering the final period on a day the Mavericks raised their championship banner.

The Mavericks defeated the Heat in six games to win last season’s NBA Finals. Naturally, the circumstances of Sunday’s season opener provided a little extra motivation for the Heat.

The team remained in the locker room during the pregame banner-raising ceremony and then took the court with singular purpose: running the Mavs out of their own gym.

Wade finished with 26 points on 11 of 21 shooting. He had eight rebounds, six assists, a block and a steal. The 63 points provided by James and Wade — 60 percent of the Heat’s offense— was more than enough to make up for an off night for Chris Bosh, who had four points on 2 of 9 shooting in less than 24 minutes. Bosh managed seven rebounds despite being limited by foul trouble.

The Heat outrebounded the Mavs 51-31 and outscored Dallas 31-10 in fastbreak points.

“It was a good business-professional win for us tonight to get this thing started,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.

“We understand that is going to be a wild journey for everybody with all the condensed games coming one after another.”

“It’s not about last year’s storyline; it’s not about anything else other than trying to establish our season on the right note.”

One perspective: The Miami Heat is the defending Eastern Conference champion. Success.

Another perspective: The Heat collapsed in The Finals. Failure.

One perspective: The city of Miami cherishes this team. Love.

Another perspective: The rest of the world loathes this team. Hate.

One perspective: For nearly an entire season, LeBron James thrived amid scrutiny that would have driven a lesser man mad. Strength.

Another perspective: In The Finals, James imploded under pressure like a sinking submarine. Weakness.

One perspective: The lockout was pointless. Fact.

Another perspective: It was extremely necessary. Fiction.

One perspective: All of this is true.

Another perspective: What is truth? For most, truth is the absence of doubt.

For the Heat, it’s a matter of perspective. SO BEGINS YEAR 2 OF THE BIG 3.

This team has enough talent to win the NBA championship. That’s one way to look at it, and there’s no denying it. Just ask Las Vegas. Two-to-one favorites. Nearly unbeatable.

This team simply lacks the spiritual fortitude to persevere. That’s another way to refract light through the prism. Just ask the Dallas Mavericks. Three consecutive losses. Nearly unthinkable.

Pat Riley understands all of this. Perched high atop the pantheon of his sport, he has a view of every angle. His vantage point is a 360-degree panorama. The Heat’s president sees a team that can win it all. He also sees a team staring into the mirror, searching for itself.

“How we go about, and how Erik [Spoelstra] goes about, and how the players go about having a perspective on this season is probably going to be important to how they end it,” Riley said.

What is the proper perspective? That’s what this team must teach itself. Last year, after The Decision, after The Celebration, after James counted the championships he imagined in his dreams, all perspective was lost. And that was before the season even began.

The Heat was painted a villain of an epic tale it helped create. Darth Vader. The Dark Side. James, loved by all when he was in Cleveland, fueled by happiness, was suddenly cast a traitorous scoundrel. Benedict Arnold, his former team’s owner shouted. James listened. He heard it all; from everywhere. He accepted someone else’s perspective.

He played powerfully but with anger. The joy wasn’t gone, but it was hiding somewhere, tucked away in a shadowy cave, sealed off from the world by frustration. “What should I do?” he asked in a commercial. The world answered, “Be the bad guy.” And so he accepted the role.

James searched for answers during the lockout. Something was missing. Maybe it was his post game. He found Hakeem Olajuwon, who helped James find himself once again. Sure, he worked on his post game, but he also worked on something much more important: self discovery.

James called his time with the Hall of Famer “overwhelming” and said he went searching for answers “not knowing that the experience was going to be much better, much bigger than basketball.”

Now James says the old James is back. He’s ready for the hate fest. He’s impervious to the negativity. Boos from fans of opposing teams that once chiseled an emotionally hardened exterior will cascade off his shoulders.

“I’m just back to being myself,” James said. “I just wasn’t myself last year.”

Back from where? Back from darkness.

Who is LeBron James? A child at heart.

“I’m back to the childhood kid who loved the game of basketball — just playing it and not worrying about everything else,” James said. “Last year, I got caught up in everything that was going on. I’m back to just loving the game.”

Perspective. The Finals. The sinking submarine plummeting into the abyss of not knowing one’s self, of doing and not being.

“I didn’t play my game,” James said. “I didn’t make enough game-changing plays.”

Perspective. Truth. What is truth? The Finals.

“There’s no sense in putting extra pressure on yourself,” Riley said. “But when you get to the moment of truth, you’ve got to be relaxed. You don’t have to be living up to something you said.”

“ Not one, not two, not three, not four … ” Ultimately, James and his teammates will be judged — by themselves and everyone else — in the playoffs. The shortened training camp, the shortened season, all of it will be forgotten come late April.

The seeds of perspective already are being planted for the coming spring.

“We all know what this team is capable of doing,” Riley said. “We are contenders, I believe that, and that’s all we are.”