MIAMI | The Big 3 were together for merely three minutes. LeBron James and Chris Bosh more than picked up the slack after Dwyane Wade’s preseason debut came to a quick end.
And with that, this era for the Miami Heat got off to a promising, but not perfect, start.
James and Bosh combined for 38 points in their exhibition debuts, and the Heat easily beat the Detroit Pistons 105-89 in the preseason opener for both teams Tuesday night.
“It was something I’ve waited for all summer,” James said. “To be able to be back on the court, it was great. The reception from the fans was awesome and it was great we were able to give them the same energy that they gave us.”
The outcome was meaningless, but the game wasn’t for Miami — not after Wade limped off just 3:17 into the game with a strained right hamstring. He went into the locker room shortly afterward, did not return, and could miss up to two weeks. Wade expects to be back long before the Oct. 26 regular-season opener in Boston.
“I think Miami’s seen me play for a long time,” Wade said. “And they’ll get a lot of time to see the ’Big 3,’ as they say, our team play together.”
Bosh had 20 points on 8-for-13 shooting. James, the NBA’s two-time reigning MVP who took his championship pursuit from Cleveland to Miami this summer, added 18, and the Heat weren’t challenged after running out to a 20-point lead by halftime.
Udonis Haslem added 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Heat. Ben Gordon led Detroit with 17 points.
“I don’t really think they played that great,” Gordon said. “Obviously, we didn’t play that well either.”
By the final buzzer, most of the crowd was long gone. Most came to see the opening moments of this trio’s time together, and the fanfare was the sort simply not seen at most preseason games.
James walked from the bench moments before tip-off with the traditional stoic look. He filled his hands with rosin powder, threw it into the air to create a white cloud, then clapped his hands three times.
Same as always. Just totally different.
“The season,” James said, “is back.”
And when Wade left, James just took over.
He put much of his repertoire on display in the early going: no-look passes, drives to the rim, 3-pointers, even playing some point guard in the first quarter. It always wasn’t perfect — he airballed one try from beyond the arc, never saw a wide-open Bosh under the basket on another possession.
At times, it was downright scintillating.
One play after missing Bosh, he set up his new teammate for a dunk that left the former Toronto forward screaming with delight. And with 4.7 seconds left in the first quarter, James ran off a Haslem pick, then spun before going down the lane for a two-handed dunk — waving his arms with a flourish after giving Miami a 24-15 lead.
“I think everyone’s been waiting to see us, to see what we’ve been doing in practice and bringing it into a game setting,” James said.
James had 12 points in the first 12 minutes, either scoring or assisting on eight of Miami’s first 11 field goals. He returned to the game with 5:03 left in the half to a raucous ovation, set up a 3-pointer by Mario Chalmers with a wraparound behind-the-back pass, and went into intermission with 14 points on 7-of-15 shooting.
Miami led 58-38 at the break, holding Detroit to 39 percent shooting. James and Bosh both played late into the third quarter, before Heat coach Erik Spoelstra declared their nights complete.
“There’s some encouraging things to come from this game,” Spoelstra said. “The No. 1 thing was our guys wanted to play in front of the home fans. You could tell with their energy. It’s been a long week of hitting each other and not seeing any other competition.”
James took the floor for pregame at 7:18 p.m., one of the last three Heat players to emerge into view, sandwiched between Bosh and Wade, Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” blaring through the arena as usual. The Heat, clad in black warmups, huddled in a hallway just behind the court, as dozens of people leaned to take photos with their cell phones for the first arrival.
James’ longtime girlfriend, Savannah Brinson, was in the much-larger-than-usual preseason crowd, but his children weren’t — school obligations, James said.
“As a basketball player, as a guy who loves the game of basketball, I’m excited about that, for the season to be back around,” James said. “I’m very happy about that.”
Bosh knew Tuesday was a big deal when his father insisted on coming to the game.
“He was that excited about it,” Bosh said. “He was ready to see us take the court for the first time. Just this fact that he was super-excited about it, that let me know kind of how everybody else is going to be. And if that’s how everybody is, it makes it a lot more fun to play.”
The Pistons took this game seriously, making it a measure of where they are three weeks before the games start counting, center Ben Wallace said.
“They know everybody’s going to be gunning at them,” Wallace said. “I heard them say that they know they put the bulls-eye on their back. That helps you to focus, helps you stay on your toes, stay on top of your game knowing that everyone is coming at you night-in and night-out.”
Outside, parking lots that used to charge $10 were asking $40 per space. Long lines of fans waited to get in, some wearing James, Wade and Bosh Heat jerseys — and a few wearing James’ old No. 23 from Cleveland as well. A notoriously late-arriving Miami crowd showed up to see the pregame introductions, and roared when James’ name was called first.
“You can tell it’s an exciting time for this city,” James said. “And hopefully we can come through and do things that we need to do on the court to keep the fans excited.”
This seemed like a good first impression.
Notes: Flo Rida and Gloria Estefan were in the crowd, and most seats were filled by tip-off — a far cry from preseason games in recent years, when the Heat typically played before a half-empty house. … The Heat next play on Friday in Kansas City, Mo. against Oklahoma City — a Miami home game, technically — then head to San Antonio the next night.
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