Cavs-Heat In-Game Report

End 3Q: Heat 89, Cavs 72
* Sunday night at Orlando, the Cavs got the deficit down to 9, then scored one basket over the next 6 1/2 minutes and the Magic put the game away. Tonight they pulled within three, then went nearly four minutes without a basket as the Heat pushed the lead back to 10. Those droughts are crippling this team.

* The Heat scored 10 of the last 11 points of the quarter. Wade has 27 for the game, James has 24 and Zydrunas Ilgauskas has a season high 13 rebounds. His length has been troubling tonight, since J.J. Hickson is giving up six inches.

* Antawn Jamison has 21 points and 10 rebounds, Manny Harris has 15 points and J.J. Hickson has 14 points and seven rebounds for the Cavs.

Half: Heat 66, Cavs 57
* Remember when it used to be shocking to see the Cavs allow 60 or 70 points by halftime? Not anymore.

* If the Cavs could play a lick of defense, they could actually be winning this game. As it is, they've done well to keep the deficit under 10 at the half. Lucky for them, the Heat quit playing defense in the second quarter. The Cavs made 13 of 20 shots, dominated the rebounds (12-4) and clawed their way back into it.

* Now that momentum needs to carry over. When the Cavs cut the deficit to 9 at Orlando last night early in the third quarter, the Magic started playing again and held the Cavs to one basket over the next 6 1/2 minutes. A stretch like that tonight will be impossible to overcome.

* Dwyane Wade is putting on his own personal dunk contest tonight and LeBron joined him late. The Cavs are doing an awful job of protecting the basket, in part because their best rim defender (Anderson Varejao) is home on the couch.

* Antawn Jamison has 17 points for Cavs, Manny Harris has 11. Wade has 26 for the Heat and James has 15.

End 1Q: Heat 35, Cavs 20
* The Cavs got crushed on the boards 19-8. Rebounding is about hustling, and right now the Heat are outhustling the Cavs. When they're this banged up, that can't happen. The Cavs have to at least outwork the opponent and that's not happening right now.

* LeBron James is even more juiced than usual tonight, proving it's not quite just another game yet. But this certainly doesn't have the buzz the first two games carried. James has 11 points in the quarter. His partner, Dwyane Wade, had 10.

* Christian Eyenga had a ridiculous block on Zydrunas Ilgauskas, then he followed it up by scoring on James at the other end. But he later caught Byron Scott's wrath for being out of position defensively.

* Ramon Sessions is 0 for 5 in the first quarter, but he's the only healthy point guard left on the roster. Daniel Gibson, as expected, is out tonight. Complicating matters were the two fouls Manny Harris picked up in the quarter. Harris will serve as Sessions' backup, making it even more critical he avoids further foul trouble.