MIAMI _ The coronation came at halftime, Dwyane Wade's iconic No. 3 raised to the rafters at AmericanAirlines Arena.
The celebration by his former team was well under way by then, the Miami Heat scoring a franchise-record 82 first-half points in what turned into a 124-105 rout Saturday night of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Playing with the spirit that has defined their Miami dominance this season, even on the nights when a franchise icon isn't being honored, the Heat improved to 23-3 at home, up by 30 at the intermission, focus on this most special of nights not waning until the waning stages.
In their first home game since Feb. 3, the Heat showed just about all their possibilities, shooting a staggering .769 in the first half, also a franchise record.
Even with Jimmy Butler missing due to what the team cited as personal reasons, all five starters were in double figures by half, no concerns this time with Tyler Herro and Meyers Leonard still sidelined.
In many ways, it was as if a carryover from All-Star Saturday, with Duncan Robinson draining 3-pointers, Derrick Jones Jr. slamming dunks and Bam Adebayo demonstrating his contest-winning skill set with his passing.
It reached the point where there even was a turn for likely the next jersey in the rafters, with No. 40 Udonis Haslem entering at the start of the fourth quarter, when the Heat led 106-78.
Kendrick Nunn led the Heat with 24 points.
