Cavaliers vs. Heat final score: 3 things we learned from Cleveland’s OT win over LeBron’s old team

LeBron James’ first game against the team where he won two NBA titles was an overtime thriller -- kind of. The game in Rio de Janeiro needed an extra session before the Cavs pulled out a 122-119 win, but that’s mainly because of strong play from Miami’s bench after James and Kevin Love were benched for the night in the preseason matchup.

Love led all scorers with 25 points, drilling 4-of-5 threes. James didn’t crack double digits in any category, but dished out eight assists. The pair each boasted pretty sweet +/- figures, as the Cavs led 59-44 at the half.

But Miami’s reserves fought the team back into the game: Shabazz Napier had 17 points and James Ennis had 16, and a pair of late Napier free throws forced OT. There, Cleveland’s AJ Price was the star, drilling three threes, and a Stephen Holt three gave the Cavs the lead for good.

There wasn’t a whole ton of LeBron nostalgia, although people had a ton of fun with this Vine of LeBron accidentally setting a screen for his old team.

LeBron didn’t have a great scoring night -- he finished 2-8 with seven points -- but chipped in as a playmaker. James had eight assists, five of which went to Love, including all four of Love’s threes.

LeBron has always drawn defenders and kicked to open shooters beyond the three-point arc. With the Heat, one of those shooters was sometimes Chris Bosh, who shot a career high 2.8 threes per game last year, connecting on only 33.9 percent of them.

Love is a better shooter than Bosh in virtually every category, and having him in the starting lineup at power forward next to James is something everybody should be scared about.

In 25 minutes, Wade attempted 10 shots -- second-most amongst the Heat’s starters, behind Bosh -- and had seven assists -- more than the rest of Miami’s starting lineup combined. Those seven assists would’ve been Wade’s sixth-highest figure last year, and he did this only playing 25 minutes. He even attempted an uncharacteristic four threes.

Wade is still a star, but he’s an oft-injured 32-year-old star who hasn’t been asked to carry this much responsibility since he was significantly springier. Miami can play well with Wade as the primary guy, but who knows how long he’ll be able to do it.

This past college basketball season, Napier essentially single-handedly willed UConn to a national title after a lackluster regular season. Tonight, he was put in charge of the Heat’s offense and he responded extremely well. It was against mainly scrubs, but Napier more or less led Miami’s comeback: 17 points, a team-high seven assists (tied with Wade) and zero turnovers.

Taking in mind what we just said about Wade’s potential durability issues, one wonders if Napier can help the Heat in a significant role. Right now, the team isn’t getting a whole ton out of their starting point guard -- Norris Cole went 2-for-6, and mainly serves as a shooter with Wade handling the ball -- but Napier looks comfortable handling an offense, which isn’t anything to scoff at. Maybe he’ll get a shot with the starters, soon.