NBA: James stars as Heat complete four-game sweep of Bobcats

(Updated 11:25am) CHARLOTTE, N.C. - It might have looked routine, but that is not the way the Miami Heat view their first-round sweep of the Charlotte Bobcats.

The Heat pulled away late in the third quarter for a 109-98 victory in game four on Monday night (Tuesday, PHL time), and afterward they made sure to savor the moment.

"When you see what's going on around the league and how competitive it is, even though we've been through this, our fourth year together, we do not take it for granted," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Some people might look at this 2-7 matchup and say we're supposed to win 4-0, but it doesn't work that way in this league. We understand how fragile it is and how tough it is to win in this league. We're very pleased to move on and we're not jaded enough not to enjoy the process."

The Heat will now face the winner of the Toronto-Brooklyn series in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Forward LeBron James led the way with 31 points, playing most of the second half after suffering a thigh contusion. He had 20 in the second half, as the Heat took control by outscoring the Bobcats 32-17 in the third quarter. Charlotte led by two at halftime.

James said he was pleased with the way the Heat stepped up their game in this series, after losing five of eight to end the regular season.

"For us, the best thing about this series is that we improved every game," James said. "That was the most important thing."



The Heat also got 17 points from center Chris Bosh, 15 from guard Dwyane Wade, 13 from guard Norris Cole and 10 from guard Mario Chalmers.

They shot 50 percent from the field, had 25 assists on 39 field goals, and committed only nine turnovers.

"We took care of the ball in this series," James said. "Tonight and Saturday night [Sunday, PHL time, a 98-85 win] we did a good job of taking care of the ball. That is the one thing coming out of this series that we need to carry on to the next series. If we don't turn the ball over, we get a chance at some great shots, and we're the No. 1 shooting team in the league. If we don't turn the ball over and get great shots, we have a great chance to succeed."

The win was the Heat's 20th straight over the Bobcats in the Big Three Era, and closed out a season in which the Heat beat the Bobcats eight times.

The Bobcats played without center Al Jefferson, their leading scorer and rebounder. Jefferson suffered a strained left plantar fascia in game one in Miami, played through the pain in games two and three, but couldn't answer the bell on only one day's rest Monday night (Tuesday, PHL time).

"You take away any team's best scorer and it's going to be very difficult for that team," Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said. "And I would say we depend more on Al than any team in the league depends on one player. But I thought our guys fought hard. They stepped on the floor with the mentality that even without Al they were going to win the game."

Clifford wasn't using Jefferson's absence as an excuse, though.

"In these games against these kind of teams, you've got to be able to stay with what you're doing well, and we got away from that for a stretch in the third quarter," he said.

Guard Kemba Walker led the Bobcats with 29 points. Guard Gary Neal scored 16, forward Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 14, guard Gerald Henderson scored 12, and forward Josh McRoberts had 10 points and 10 rebounds.

"This was a good experience," Walker said. "We ought to appreciate the experience. Obviously we're disappointed but it was the first go-around for a lot of us, and, you know, we can only go up from here. This has got to give us confidence as a team, because we've got our whole core returning next season." - Reuters


The scores:

HEAT 109 - James 31, Bosh 17, Wade 15, Cole 13, Chalmers 10, Jones 9, Andersen 7, Lewis 4, Allen 3, Haslem 0

BOBCATS 98 - Walker 29, Neal 16, Douglas-Roberts 14, Henderson 12, McRoberts 10, Biyombo 7, Kidd-Gilchrist 4, Tolliver 3, Ridnour 2, Zeller 1

Miami        26-26-32-25
Charlotte    27-27-17-27