Miami 118, Cleveland 90: Just another letdown in the storied history of Cleveland sports teams coming up small in a big spot. How, when you’re down 30+, do you not take your frustrations out on LeBron (38 points)? This was an embarrassingly soft effort from the Cavs, who looked awful in what should will be their only national TV appearance of the year. As for the Cavs fans, they’re either pussies or showed some impressive decorum (only 1 arrest and 4 ejections). The crowd was loud, but that is not to be confused with hostile. This is hostile. Landon Donovan knows hostile.

Will this very public rout finally kick-start the Heat, who have struggled through the first 20 games? They’re 12-8 and have won three in a row. We kind of expect them to rattle off a few wins here, as five of their next seven games are fairly easy (Joe Johnson-less Atlanta, injured-ravaged Milwaukee, Golden State, Sacramento and Cleveland again (there’s a trip to the Jazz and a rematch against Chris Paul thrown in there). As for columns on LeBron’s return … Marla Ridenour of the Beacon Journal … Ken Berg of CBS … Bill Reiter of Fox Sports … Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo …

Phoenix 107, Golden State 101: Steve Nash (13 points, 16 assists) got the better of Stephen Curry (9 points, 7 assists), and the Suns reached .500. Monta Ellis, who is 4th in the league in scoring, dropped 38 points.