MIAMI, March 3 – Cleveland's LeBron James scored 42 points, one more than Miami's Dwyane Wade in a shootout between basketball's two top point producers, and the Cavaliers defeated Miami 107-100 here on Monday.
James, who sank six 3-pointers and added eight rebounds, put the final exclamation point on the showdown of National Basketball Association sharpshooters with a game-clinching slam dunk with 42 seconds remaining.
The Cavaliers rallied from an 11-point deficit in the fourth quarter by outscoring the Heat 27-9 over the last 7:31 of the game, with Mo Williams scoring 19 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter for Cleveland.
NBA scoring leader Wade added nine assists and seven rebounds to go with his 41 points but still finished second best in the personal battle of playmakers and in the final score thanks to Miami shooting 6-of-25 in the last period.
Wade also made a career-high seven steals, one of them turned into a reverse slam dunk that gave the Heat their largest lead at 91-80 just 4:29 into the fourth quarter.
Cleveland scored the next eight points, two Williams’ 3-points around a dunk by "King James", who seized command for the second night in a row with the outcome in doubt in the final seconds.
James drove quickly to his right, faking out defenders, then slammed in a dunk to leave the Heat in trouble. He hit the game-winning free throw in the last seconds Sunday against Atlanta on a similar move.
Wade, who produced his NBA-best eighth 40-point game of the season, also made a season-high eight turnovers.
