Matthews, Portland edge Heat; James held to 15 points

Portland, OR – Although they were outplayed for most of the night, the Portland Trail Blazers kept their home winning streak intact.

Wesley Matthews nailed a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute, including the go-ahead triple with 26.9 seconds left in the Trail Blazers' 92-90 win over the Miami Heat.

"You believe, you play hard, you compete, you play the right way and you play with confidence, the basketball gods look out for you," Matthews said.

It was Portland's ninth straight home win.

Nicolas Batum had 28 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Portland, which hasn't dropped a home decision since Dec. 8 against the Sacramento Kings.

LeBron James finished with just 15 points, the first time all season he's been held below the 20-point barrier. James was 12 games away from matching the most consecutive 20-point games to start a season since the NBA-ABA merger at 45, held by George Gervin in 1981-82.

Chris Bosh netted 29 points to lead the Heat, who have dropped three of their last four games.

Down 80-68 in the fourth after Dwyane Wade sank two free throws, the Blazers countered with a 14-2 run to tie the score.

Batum, who had eight points during the surge, capped it with a three-point play to make it 82-82 with 4:03 left. The long-armed Frenchman intercepted a Wade pass and raced the other way before laying the ball in and drawing a foul.

Allen gave the Heat the lead right back with a triple and split a pair of foul shots a bit later to give Miami an 88-85 advantage with 1:05 to play.

But Matthews came through in a big way. He knotted the game at 88-88 with a three from the left corner, and after Bosh's dunk gave the visitors a two- point edge, Matthews swished home a step-back trey from the right wing for a 91-90 Portland margin.

It was the Blazers' first lead since the middle stages of the opening frame.

Allen missed an open three at the other end, and after LaMarcus Aldridge split a pair from the charity stripe, Mario Chalmers misfired as the horn sounded.

"They made more plays at the end," Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra said. "It's more when you have a double-digit lead at the end with our experience."

Miami led 21-18 after a quarter of play and headed into the break with a 52-39 cushion.

The Blazers outscored the Heat 24-16 in the third and went into the final period staring at a 68-63 deficit.

Game Notes

Aldridge finished with 20 points and 15 boards ... With 10 rebounds and nine assists, James was a helper shy of a triple-double ... Miami turned the ball over 17 times, which led to 19 Portland points.