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Heat shift focus to visiting Grizzlies

The Miami Heat are coming off an emotional Christmas Day victory, but they'll have to put it behind them Saturday night when the Memphis Grizzlies visit AmericanAirlines Arena.

Miami knocked off LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in James' return to South Beach on Thursday evening.

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Dwyane Wade netted 24 of his 31 points in the first half and the Heat spoiled James' return with a 101-91 win over the Cavaliers.

James, who helped the Heat to a quartet of NBA Finals appearances and a pair of titles during his four-year stay with Miami, was the first Cleveland player introduced out of its starting five.

"I think these fans are great," James said. "They always showed their loyalty."

Wade was a blistering 10-of-16 in the first half, helping the Heat build a margin as high as 17 in the opening 24 minutes before they took a 13-point advantage into the locker room.

"Whenever you play on Christmas that means your team is good enough, and to win those games is phenomenal," Wade said.

The start of the second half was delayed due to a power outage which caused the lights to go out. James and Wade were seen conversing, joking and laughing on the scorer's table while both teams were waiting for the second half to begin.

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Luol Deng chipped in 25 points, followed by 12 from Chris Andersen. No other Miami player scored in double figures.

Chris Bosh missed his seventh straight game for Miami due to a left calf strain.

The Heat end a seven-game homestand against the Orlando Magic on Monday. They are 2-3 on the stay with wins over the Cavs and Boston Celtics, but disappointing losses against the Washington Wizards, Utah Jazz and Philadelphia 76ers.

Memphis hopes to put an end to its season-long four-game losing streak and suffered a 117-111 overtime loss to the Houston Rockets Friday night. James Harden had 32 points, including a tying layup late in regulation for Houston.

Marc Gasol scored 29 points to lead Memphis and Beno Udrih had 17 off the bench. Zach Randolph (knee) remained out for the Grizzlies, while Tony Allen (eye) returned to score 10 points in 26 minutes.

"Good game, exciting game," said Grizzlies coach David Joerger. "(We) didn't execute defensively well enough."

The Grizzlies were outscored, 13-7, in overtime and their losing streak comes on the heels of six straight wins.

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Memphis, which is 9-4 on the road, beat the Heat by 16 at home on Dec. 7 and has won four of the last six meetings. Miami has won two straight as the host in this series.

[SportsNetwork.com]

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