Albany Herald

In a key moment during Sunday’s huge showdown between the Heat and the Lakers, LeBron James, center, takes a steal the length of the court and jams the ball home as Los Angeles’ Steve Nash, left, and Earl Clark look on helplessly. James and the Heat broke open a tight game late and rolled to a 107-97 win.

MIAMI — Coach Erik Spoelstra’s words describing Miami Heat star LeBron James’ franchise-record, fifth straight 30-plus-point game could fit neatly on a poster.

“LeBron is making greatness look easy,” Spoelstra said after James scored 32 points and Dwyane Wade added 30 to lead the Heat to a 107-97 win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.

Both James and Wade made 12 of 18 shots from the floor as Miami improved to 22-3 at home this season and 18-5 against teams from the Western Conference.

The game, which was tied 53-53 at halftime, was fairly close throughout. The Lakers trailed, 82-81, with 8:47 left but made five turnovers down that stretch.

The third member of the Heat’s “Big Three,” Chris Bosh, also made a significant contribution. After missing the previous two games due to the flu, he returned to post 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Bosh’s efforts helped the Heat, which ranks near the bottom of the NBA in rebounding, beat the Lakers off the glass, 38-29.

“After his first sweat, Chris got his second wind and was rock solid for us,” Spoelstra said of Bosh.

The Heat, which have won five games in a row, continues to lead the Eastern Conference with a 34-14 record.

Perhaps the only negative for the Heat was the continued cold shooting of Ray Allen, who came back from having missed one game due to the flu and went 1-for-6 from the field. He finished with two points.

During his past four games, Allen — historically one of the best shooters in NBA history — is just 4-for-28 for just 14.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the Lakers (24-28) have much deeper problems.

MIAMI — Coach Erik Spoelstra’s words describing Miami Heat star LeBron James’ franchise-record, fifth straight 30-plus-point game could fit neatly on a poster.

“LeBron is making greatness look easy,” Spoelstra said after James scored 32 points and Dwyane Wade added 30 to lead the Heat to a 107-97 win against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.

Both James and Wade made 12 of 18 shots from the floor as Miami improved to 22-3 at home this season and 18-5 against teams from the Western Conference.

The game, which was tied 53-53 at halftime, was fairly close throughout. The Lakers trailed, 82-81, with 8:47 left but made five turnovers down that stretch.

The third member of the Heat’s “Big Three,” Chris Bosh, also made a significant contribution. After missing the previous two games due to the flu, he returned to post 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Bosh’s efforts helped the Heat, which ranks near the bottom of the NBA in rebounding, beat the Lakers off the glass, 38-29.

“After his first sweat, Chris got his second wind and was rock solid for us,” Spoelstra said of Bosh.

The Heat, which have won five games in a row, continues to lead the Eastern Conference with a 34-14 record.

Perhaps the only negative for the Heat was the continued cold shooting of Ray Allen, who came back from having missed one game due to the flu and went 1-for-6 from the field. He finished with two points.

During his past four games, Allen — historically one of the best shooters in NBA history — is just 4-for-28 for just 14.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the Lakers (24-28) have much deeper problems.