Heat's Big Three live up to their billing

WHEN THE HEAT was on, the Heatles caught fire.

Dwyane Wade's steal led to a LeBron James runner, James' steal and behind-the-back move led to a Wade dunk, Chris Bosh drove for a righthanded layup, and Wade threw down a tip-slam that turned the tide for the Heat late in the third quarter.

It tied the game at 68, swung momentum in the Heat's direction and paved the way for a 100-94 stroll and a Game 3 win over the Sixers last night and a 3-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference quarterfinal.

"That really changed the course of the game," Bosh said.

Wade, free of headache symptoms for the first time this series, pained the Sixers for 32 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, typical of his three regular-season performances in the Heat's sweep of the Sixers. Six of his rebounds were offensive, a large portion of the 20 offensive rebounds the Heat had, which led to 24 second-chance points.

Wade averaged 15.5 points in the first two games of the series, also Heat wins - but at home, where the Heat is beloved.

"Tonight, he understood we needed a little bit more," coach Erik Spoelstra said.

"That's one thing you have to remember about Dwyane," Bosh said. "He's a bona fide scorer. He had it going."

He got it going because he was healthy. Migraine symptoms Saturday through Monday limited him.

"I felt a lot better," Wade said. It showed.

James dominated with 24 points, 15 rebounds and six assists, despite being the target of boos all night long.

"It's nothing we haven't seen all season," James said. "A lot of our regular-season games felt like the postseason."

Of course, James' garish offseason departure from Cleveland for South Beach has made him an American pariah. Some fans along the sideline took their shots at James, and he partook in repartee.

"Engaging fans is part of my game," James said. "I hope they enjoyed my game, too."

Bosh pitched in with 19 points.

It wasn't all roses for the trio, who, with perhaps justified arrogance, stole their punny nickname from the Fab Four.

James fired an airball three-pointer with 36 seconds to play in the third, to the delight of most of the 20,404 - not all of whom, it should be stressed, were Sixers fans. Several thousand just came to catch the Flaming LeBrons.

All three endured frequent pounding, sometimes with no relief from the referees. Wade took a shot early to his left shoulder, on which he had surgery in 2007.

"He's 222 pounds, 6 percent body fat," Spoelstra said, then agreed, "He'll probably feel that tomorrow."

James took a seat on the floor when the Heat called a timeout with 58.9 seconds left and, upon rising, limped to his bench.

Both insisted they were OK. Neither left the game.

They weathered a scorching start from the Sixers, trailing by as many as 10 in the first quarter. In Game 1, when it fell behind by 14 points, the Heat righted itself, and eventually, inevitably, won.

Last night, in front of a crowd frothing to see the Big Three fail, they passed perhaps the toughest test of their controversial, if not unholy, union.

They won came back to win a playoff game on the road.

They won with thousands wishing them ill.

Miami's players soak it up.

"Everybody on this team feeds off that negative energy," point guard Mike Bibby said. "It's fun."

Cast, fairly or not, as the Yankees of the South, Bosh, Wade and especially James reveled in their role as villain. They won 28 road games, tied with Dallas for best in the NBA. Two of those wins came in Philadelphia, including their debut performance.

None was as vitriolic, as emotional, as last night.

None meant as much.

"We've seen a bunch of different arenas at their best. The intensity level was a little higher [last night]," Bosh said. "That's when we're at our best."

The intensity mostly evaporated by the time Wade tip-slammed his 30th point home with about 3 minutes left. The sold-out Wells Fargo Center made that Oooooh sound that always acknowledges betterment.

Betterment it was. *