Heat scorch Magic in home opener

MIAMI (AP)

LeBron James stayed fairly quiet when the Orlando Magic questioned his competitiveness this summer.

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James and his new team presented an emphatic response Friday night.

Dwyane Wade scored 26 points in Miami's home opener, James had 15 points and seven assists and the Heat scored the first 14 points of the second half to turn a close game into a surprisingly one-sided 96-70 victory over the Magic.

The Heat had lost to Orlando 15 times in the last 20 meetings. Of course, all those were before Wade, James and Chris Bosh teamed up in Miami.

And if this game was the measuring stick to see how the Heat are coming together, the result had to be an enjoyable one for Miami's Big 3. The Heat held Orlando to its lowest point total since Dec. 2, 2005, and the 26-point margin matched Miami's biggest ever against the Magic.

The 30.4 percent shooting effort was Orlando's worst since Nov. 3, 2003 - a span of 573 regular-season games.

''The guys now can't go back on this,'' Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. ''They've shown me what we're capable of defensively and I will hold them to this standard now in terms of the effort. The effort was great.''

When the Heat acquired James this summer, Magic president of basketball operations Otis Smith uttered a now-infamous-in-Miami line: ''I was surprised that he went. I thought he was, I guess, more of a competitor.''

They competed, all right, from start to finish.

It didn't take long for the trio to provide their first highlight: Bosh grabbed a rebound at one end, passed near midcourt to James, who took one dribble and found Wade for an alley-oop dunk to help Miami take an early 22-13 lead.

They were just getting started.

Dwight Howard scored all 19 of his points in the first half for Orlando, then fouled out midway through the fourth quarter. Reserve Ryan Anderson scored 12 for the Magic, who got 10 from Jameer Nelson.

Miami's starters - with no points from Joel Anthony - outscored Orlando's first five 59-37.

The first half was fairly back-and-forth with eight lead changes and seven ties, neither team going up by more than nine.

That changed quickly coming out of intermission.

James hit a 3-pointer to open the second half, Wade connected on two more 3s within a 51-second span, and suddenly Miami's lead was 60-45. Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy called timeout, and that didn't change anything - James' jumper about a minute later pushed the lead to 20.

And that, mind you, was against an Orlando team that cruised to a 29-point win over Washington on Thursday night. For a team with no shortage of offensive options, the Magic were icy cold against the Heat.

Vince Carter played just 13 minutes, banging his head and hip on the floor while jostling for a rebound in the second quarter and finishing with four points. Orlando's starting forwards - former Heat starter Quentin Richardson and Rashard Lewis - combined for four points and missed all 14 of their field-goal tries. J.J. Redick left for a few minutes in the first half after drawing a charge against James with the right side of his face, which was cut and puffy.

Van Gundy wanted no part of the hyperbole surrounding Magic-Heat I - at least for this season - before the game, and certainly didn't want to embrace it afterward.

''After listening to you guys for two days I said to the coaches, 'The great thing is it's the shortest season on record. This is it. Championship game tonight. The winner wins it and we go home. Season is over either way,''' Van Gundy said before the game. ''It's like the NBA finals here atmosphere-wise. It's Game 2 for us, Game 3 for them guys.''

It was over after the third quarter, Miami's best period in all three games so far. The Heat have outscored foes 86-41 in that quarter through the season's first week. And even though the outcome was decided, Wade, James and Bosh all played some in the fourth - not to send a message, but rather to work on continuity, Spoelstra said.

''It's a good win,'' Spoelstra said, ''but we can't get carried away.''

NOTES: Wade's girlfriend, Gabrielle Union got a birthday bouquet of flowers in the fourth quarter. ... James said before the game that he doesn't see his high rate of turnovers - he had 17 in the first two games, then just three Friday - ''as a problem now, because I understand what kind of situation this is. I'm still learning my teammates. Teammates are still learning me,'' he said. ... Celebrities in attendance included Marc Anthony, Chris Brown, Jon Secada and Ludacris. Clarence Clemons performed the national anthem. ... The Magic were without PG Jason Williams, suspended after making contact with an official in the final minute of Orlando's win over Washington.