Dwayne Wade scored a game high 36 points for the Miami Heat in attempts to beat out his friendly nemesis LeBron James. Though LeBron failed to match Flash in points with 34, his Cleveland Cavaliers more importantly were able to notch the 111-104 win on the road at the American Airlines Arena.

Buying a ticket to yesterday’s game meant you were in store for a full on performance involving two of the three best players in the NBA. The game was competitive on top of the marquee talent really going to work. “I like playing against LeBron more than anybody else in the league,” said Wade. “He brings out the best in me, and I bring out the best in him.” 

James refused to answer any free agency questions, but earlier this week Wade confirmed that the two have talked about playing together someday. So far the likely choices for LeBron in 2010 (aside from re-signing with the Cavs) include the New York Knicks, New Jersey (or Brooklyn) Nets, and Miami Heat.

Miami Heat franchise player Dwayne Wade has decided not to keep talking contract negotiations with the organization as they head into the upcoming season.  “Yeah, that’s no longer a conversation we’re really having right now,” said Wade. “We’ve talked about it all summer. We know where they are — they know where we are. We both want the best. But the focus is only on trying to get better than we were last year. And then we’ll get back to the table and look at everything.”

With this said, Wade openly would like to see where his options are after the season along with LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Amare Stoudemire.  Wade dominated the league in 2008, averaging 30.2 points per game and re-building his strength from his two previous injury filled seasons.  The franchise has offered him (according to NBA sources) around $60 million for a three year extension.

Wade has mentioned before that he would like to finish his career with Miami where he won a championship in 2006.  He and LeBron James have also said that they would like to play together some day, leading us to think that the biggest blockbuster move in the history of the NBA could go down in 2010.  Aside from these two thoughts, rumor has it that he wouldn’t mind playing for his home town Chicago.  Either way, Wade has made it clear that his #1 interest is to fight with the Heat this year with hopes to be top contenders in the Eastern Conference for the 2010 playoffs.

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The Memphis Grizzlies have officially extended an offer to free agent veteran guard Allen Iverson.  The press first caught wind of the news through Iverson’s twitter page, and it was later confirmed by GM Chris Wallace.  “We’re heading into the home stretch before the season, and we have had interest in Allen all summer,” Wallace said. “We’ve been in touch on a fairly consistent basis and had dialogue with his agent, Leon Rose, since the beginning of free agency.”

Although the Grizzlies have already formulated a set deal for the 10-time All-Star, there are still other teams in the picture.  Charlotte Bobcats head coach Larry Brown has been speaking with Iverson about teaming up again.  The Miami Heat and LA Clippers have also had conversations with him but have a more difficult route in signing the free agent with the luxury tax in place.  The deal from Memphis will likely be the biggest contract Iverson will see, knowing the franchise is around $3.5 million under the salary cap going into this season.

The former Piston was also a member of the Denver Nuggets and Philadelphia 76ers earlier in his career.  Last season between Denver and Detroit he only played 57 games, averaging a career-low 17.5 points per game.

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6-foot-6 swingman Quentin Richardson has just been traded to the Miami Heat, marking the fourth time an NBA team has dealt him away.  Despite the fact that he hasn’t been able to really unpack anywhere, he manages to keep a positive attitude about the situation.  “The funny part about it was I didn’t even get any of the jerseys,” said Richardson. “I have a Knicks jersey and obviously I have a Clippers jersey because I played there before. I don’t have a Minnesota jersey and what was the other team?”  “The other team” was the Memphis Grizzlies; where he stopped after New York before arriving to LA.  From there he went to Minnesota, and after filling out the necessary paper work for the T-wolves, he wound up in Miami.  Best of luck to Q-Rich, who at this point is on pace to be acquired by every single NBA team by the end of the 2010 season.

Knowing the amount of times Richardson has changed locations, some teams have certainly made their fair share of deals this off-season.  The Los Angeles Clippers recently traded for Rasual Butler to fill their outside shooting weakness.  The 6-7 small forward averaged 11.2 points per game last year, shooting 39% from behind the arc during the regular season and 53% in the playoffs.

The Orlando Magic just signed free agent guard Jason Williams to add more depth and experience to their backcourt.  Williams hasn’t laced up since September of 2008, when he retired after a season with the Miami Heat.  He averaged 8.8 points a game in that season.

One of the most interesting developments this offseason has been talk of where veteran guard Allen Iverson will end up. Iverson is currently waiting for offers and has stated: “my people just informed me that we are getting close to a deal. I asked them to call me when it’s done. I am so ready to know!”  The eight-time All-Star is expecting calls from Charlotte, Miami, and New York.  After coming off the worst season of his career with the Detroit Pistons, AI feels as though he should address his new found work ethic through his twitter page. “When you see me again you will think that I am fresh out of Georgetown,” said Iverson. “Getting in shape, running, lifting and thinking about which team that I will help compete for a championship! Whoever gets me will be happy.”

 Look for more NBA updates to come!

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Atlanta Hawks 81, Miami Heat 71.

Azaza Pachulia dominated the glass for the Hawks with 18 rebounds, helping Atlanta regain their home court advantage with a 81-71 win over the Miami Heat.  The Hawks scoring was basically split between Bibby, Johnson, and Smith scoring 15, 14, and 13.  Atlanta coach Mike Woodson stated that Pachulia was the crucial factor to the win.  “Zaza was huge throughout the whole game,” said Woodson. “I mean, 18 rebounds, 12 points for us, and we needed all that tonight to survive.”  Dwayne Wade scored 22 for the Heat and Jermaine O’Neal contributed 20, but Miami was never ahead and only shot 38 percent.

Denver Nuggets 121, New Orleans Hornets 63.

Carmelo Anthony led the Nuggets with 26 points and was taken out in the fourth quarter due to the 58 point blow out over the New Orleans Hornets.  The victory matched the biggest lopsided contest in NBA playoff history, which came in 1956 when the Minneapolis Lakers beat the St. Louis Hawks 133-75.  The Hornets will need their All-Star point guard Chris Paul to step up in order for them to stay in the series.  The Nuggets held Paul to just 4 points and 6 assists.  Denver leads the series 3-1.

Los Angeles Lakers 107, Utah Jazz 96.

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers to finish the series in 5 games with 31 points against the Utah Jazz last night at the Staples Center.  The Lakers were in control the whole game, winning every quarter in scoring aside from the fourth.  Utah made a run at the end cutting the 20-point deficit to just six with 3:15 remaining.  From there Lamar Odom came up with two clutch finishes after LA kicked in its defense to officially decide the series.  “We out did them,” said Lakers head coach Phil Jackson. “I thought it was a disappointment to them but they played hard; they played together and you have to give them credit.  I thank them for giving us a run and a good, hard series.”

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Paul Pierce led the Boston Celtics with 36 points to win out over the Miami Heat in overtime 112-108 last night in Boston.  He was the only big 3 member present as Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett were sidelined with injuries.  Rajon Rondo picked up his game for the C’s scoring 27 points while dishing out 10 assists.  With 13 games to go in the regular season Boston was able to clinch the Atlantic Division with the win.

The Miami heat also had injury troubles with their star player Dwayne Wade recently injuring his right hip flexor.  Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers helped the Heat give the Celtics a run for their money, scoring 21 and 19.  “It showed that even without D-Wade we’re still going to fight,” Chalmers said.  “We’re a good team.”

Though they were able to pull off the overtime win at home, the Celtics need to get healthy soon for the post season.  Leon Powe, Tony Allen, and Brian Scalabrine were inactive along with Garnett and Allen.  Pierce believes the team morale is high after the victory saying “we know that we are injured, but just to get back on the winning mind-frame is big for us.”

The Celtics are on their way to San Antonio to match up against the Spurs Friday at 8:30 p.m.

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Lebron James scored 42 points to help the Cleveland Cavaliers come back last night in Miami from an 11 point deficit in the fourth quarter to win 107-100.  Mo Williams scored 15 out of his 30 points in the final seven minutes to lead the Cavs rally.  Despite Dwayne scoring 41 for the Heat he was unable to get it going in the final minutes of the game.  Miami shot 2 for 17 from the floor and turned the ball over four times in the last eight minutes.

Lebron James supplied the dagger with 43 seconds left, cruising past Jamario Moon for a huge right handed dunk to put Cleveland ahead 100-95.  The Cavaliers are now 35 games over .500, marking the most successful season in their franchise history.

Lebron James reflecting on the game stated “It was Tough.  It’s probably one of the better wins we’ve had all year.”  This was the  second time James and Wade scored 40 plus points in the same game.   The last was on April 1, 2006 in Cleveland where James had 44 and Wade
44.  “We don’t want each other to have bragging rights,” said James.   “We definitely go at it when we play each other.

Wade and the Heat will be looking for revenge soon as the Heat travel to Cleveland to square off again.

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Eddie House scored 20 points in the second quarter alone last night in a 98-83 Boston Celtics victory over the Miami Heat.  House shot 7-11 from 3 point range and finished the game with 25.  Ray Allen scored a game high 27 for the C’s, contributing to the teams 15 for 25 3-point shooting percentage.  Kevin Garnett scored 16 points, and pulled down 13 rebounds.  Paul Pierce added 14 points.

House, who was with the Heat for his first three seasons in the league says although he’s used to Miami’s American Airlines Arena, his performance didn’t have much to do with the gym itself.  “I don’t think this had anything to do with the building,” he said.  “I was just getting open looks.  We concentrated on moving the ball, and this is what happened.”

Dwayne Wade received the NBA player of the month award for December at the half as the Heat trailed the Celtics 57-34.  Wade scored 25 points for Miami followed by Deaquan Cook who finished with 20.

Up next for the Celtics is a tough match up tonight against the Orlando Magic; a team currently leading the league with a 33-8 record.

The Celtics beat the Magic earlier this season, making this a payback game for Orlando.  Looking ahead Celtics coach Doc Rivers states “We’re obviously not where we want to be but we’re starting to trend in the right direction.”

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The San Antonio Spurs got more bad news than going to 1-4 on the year. They also had to deal with the fact that Tony Parker could be out for a significant amount of time. Parker, who was coming off a spectacular 55 point game left this game with a sprained ankle. Parker could be out 2-4 weeks, making it a possibly long month for an already struggling Spurs team.

The Miami Heat improved to 3-2 on the year and got a great game out of Dwyane Wade. Wade dropped 33 points and had 10 rebounds for the Heat.

The Spurs will host the Knicks on Tuesday 11/11 which can’t hurt their chances of picking up a win. They’ll play in Milwaukee the following night before returning home to host the Houston Rockets on 11/14. San Antonio Spurs tickets are available for all remaining games.

Less then one month after the Boston Celtics captured their 17th NBA Championship, many teams around the league are already beginning to try and make some adjustments so that they can put themselves in contention for a title run. Many teams have begun to sign their lottery draft picks and several free agents are close to signing multi-year deals with new teams.

It is expected that the Golden State Warriors will sign Corey Maggette to a five year deal estimated right around $50 million dollars. Last season, Maggette averaged 22.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game for the struggling Los Angeles Clippers. At 6-foot-6, great speed and a soft perimeter touch, he would fit right into Golden State coach Don Nelson’s run and gun style of play.

The Philadelphia 76ers continue to make moves, freeing up salary cap space which many suspect is so that they can make a strong offer to Elton Brand to come and play for them. On Tuesday the 76ers traded away forward Rodney Carney, a future first round draft pick and reserve forward Calvin Booth to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a future second round draft pick and $2.8 million dollars. The Sixers now have another $2 million in salary cap space to add to the $11 million in space available that they hope will land them the post player in Brand that they desperately need to become a contender in the East.

First round draft pick O.J. Mayo (third pick overall) signed a multi-year contract with the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday. The Grizzlies pulled off an eight player trade the night of the NBA draft to acquire the rights to the third pick and land Mayo. Memphis also announced the signing of Darrell Arthur, the 27th overall selection of this year’s draft.

The number one and two picks of this years’ NBA Draft have been in the spotlight in the early action of the NBA’s summer league games. Michael Beasley (2nd pick in the draft) scored 28 points in the first game of the summer season for the Miami Heat but then followed it up with only a 9 point outing in the second game a night later. Derek Rose of the Chicago Bulls (1st pick in the draft) scored 10 points in his NBA summer league debut against Miami and Beasley and then followed it up with 9 points in his second game against the Indiana Pacers.

In other league news, the NBA set the new salary cap at $58,680,000 for the 2008-2009 season. This year’s cap went up by more than $3 million dollars over last season’s, which was set at $55.630 million. The minimum team salary for 2008-09 was 75 percent of the cap, or $44.010 million.