Struggling Heat Continue Slump, Lose to Trail Blazers

The Miami Heat seem to be repeating themselves a lot of late. They continue to say confidence is high, they continue to say they will find ways to make clutch shots and they continue to lose basketball games. Last night it was the Portland Trail Blazers beating the Heat 105-96, their fifth loss in a row.

Yet again Lebron James and Dwyane Wade had good nights offensively. Wade scored 38 points to lead all scorers and James helped with 31 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. The next highest points total for a Heat player was 10 by Mario Chalmers.

The Blazers got big games from LaMarcus Aldridge and Gerald Wallace, who scored 26 and 22 points respectively. Wallace also grabbed nine rebounds. The bench also contributed in the Blazers' win, outscoring Miami's bench 41-8. The Trail Blazers also kept the Heat in check on the defensive end. During one almost 10 minute stretch in the second half, Wade was the only Heat player to score any points.

The Heat continue to take the blame themselves but cannot figure out why they are playing so poorly. James said that confidence levels will remain high and they will continue to fight. It will be a test of how hard they are willing to fight Thursday night when they face the Los Angeles Lakers.