Heat Slip By Nets

     LeBron James set a Heat franchise record of 49 points along with six rebounds as Miami edged the Brooklyn Nets 102-96 in Game 4 on Monday night at Barclays Center. The Heat now lead the Eastern Conference semifinal series 3-1 and can wrap it up in Game 5 on Wednesday night at home.
     The Big Three also showed up for the Heat as Dwyane Wade had 15 points and Chris Bosh had 12 points. Reserve Ray Allen compiled 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds while Mario Chalmers put together eight points with seven assists.
     The five starters of Brooklyn also scored in double digits. Paul Pierce dropped in 16 points along with seven rebounds and Joe Johnson added a team-high 18 points. The Nets get a well-rounded game by Deron Williams with 13 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Shaun Livingston poured in 13 while Kevin Garnett contributed eight points and seven rebounds.
     Miami jumped out to a 10-3 edge three minutes in and led 27-22 after one quarter. Brooklyn was up 37-33 with 6:50 left in the first half until the Heat went on a 23-12 spurt at the end of the period to go ahead 56-49 at halftime.
     The Heat did not relinquish the lead during the third quarter and they led 79-76 at the end of the stanza. Neither team had more than a three-point lead throughout the final quarter until the final seconds of the game. Bosh made a three-point shot from the right corner with 57 seconds remaining to give Miami a 97-94 lead. Ray Allen moved it to a five-point cushion at 99-94 when he converted on free throws with ten seconds to go.