(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Another return to Miami for LeBron James brought another thumping for his Cleveland Cavaliers at the hands of his former club as the Heat ripped their ex-teammate 106-92 Monday.
Dwyane Wade produced game highs of 32 points and five steals to spark the Heat, who won two NBA titles and reached four consecutive NBA Finals before James left last July to return to his home-region club.
James scored 26 points to lead the Cavaliers, but they were beaten just as in his first return to Miami for a game, a 101-91 Heat triumph last December 25.
Wade and James shared an embrace in the seconds after the final buzzer, following which Wade said the Heat relish beating the Cavaliers in a special way.
"We do. They are one of the better teams in the NBA," Wade said. "We know when we play the way we played tonight, we can beat anybody. It's about getting to that game consistency. We haven't played that way as much as we did today."
Slovenian guard Goran Dragic added 20 points and nine assists for the Heat while Hassan Whiteside and reserve Mario Chalmers each scored 16 points, Whiteside also contributing a game-high 11 rebounds.
The Heat shot 55% from the floor in improving to 30-36, matching Boston and Indiana for the last two playoff berths in the Eastern Conference with 16 games remaining.
"For this team right here, it's about fighting for the playoffs, so we needed this win," Wade said.
Kyrie Irving added 21 points and a team-high six assists for the Cavaliers, who were playing without star big man Kevin Love, who was rested by Cleveland coach Dave Blatt.
James had treatment on his right knee before the game, having tweaked it in a Sunday triumph at Orlando.
Miami's 56-38 half-time lead marked the largest half-time deficit of the season for the Cavaliers, who shot only 38% from the court for the game.
Elsewhere, the Golden State Warriors clinched an NBA playoff spot for the third consecutive season with a thrilling 108-105 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Klay Thompson led the way with 26 points for the NBA-best Warriors (53-13), who got a surprise scare from the Lakers.
Jordan Clarkson tallied 17 points for Los Angeles, who committed a turnover on their final possession to end the game.
Zach Randolph scored 21 points and had 16 rebounds, his 34th double-double of the season, to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 92-81 victory over the Denver Nuggets.
The Grizzlies (47-20) moved two games clear of Portland for second place in the Western Conference.
Jameer Nelson had 24 points to lead the Nuggets, who saw their four-game winning streak snapped.
Chandler Parsons scored a game-high 31 points and Dirk Nowitzki drove a third-quarter comeback as the Dallas Mavericks tripped the Oklahoma City Thunder 119-115.
The Mavs trailed by 15 points in the third before Nowitzki dropped three three-pointers and scored 13 of his 22 points in the quarter.
Dallas (43-25) sits fifth in the West with the win.
Jeff Teague scored 23 points and Kent Bazemore canned a key three-pointer with 1:06 left in the fourth quarter as the Atlanta Hawks held off the Kings 110-103.
Bazemore, who finished with 11 points, sank the long-range bomb from the right corner after Sacramento had closed to 100-99 on guard Andre Miller's layup with 2:11 left.
The Hawks (53-14) were without guard Kyle Korver who broke his nose on Sunday and will miss at least two more games.
Bradley Beal scored 23 points and John Wall nearly recorded a triple-double as the surging Washington Wizards fended off the Portland Trail Blazers 105-97.
Wall finished with 21 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds for the Wizards (39-28), who almost blew a 25-point lead.
Washington has won four straight games and six of eight after losing 11-of-13 from Jan. 28 through Feb.27.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points and 12 rebounds for Portland (44-21).
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