And it might have gotten the Heat prepped for a daunting road stretch as well.

Dwyane Wade scored 26 points, James added 24, and the Heat said farewell to their home floor for nearly two weeks by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers, 107-91, last night in Miami. The Heat’s lead was only a point late in the third quarter, before the Cavaliers missed 17 of their next 19 shots and Miami finally pulled away.

“It was definitely going to be necessary,’’ James said of the late defensive push, one that ensured Miami would beat Cleveland for the fifth time in six meetings since the two-time MVP left the Cavaliers for the Heat. “And that’s how we want to close out games.’’

Chris Bosh finished with 15 points for the Heat, who have won 11 of their last 13 games and stayed within a game of Chicago in the Eastern Conference race, both teams tied in the loss column with six. Mario Chalmers and Udonis Haslem each scored 14 for Miami, which starts a stretch of five road games in seven nights at Orlando tonight, then caps the six-game trip with a visit to Cleveland Feb. 17.

Thunder 119, Warriors 116 - Golden State’s Monta Ellis scored a season-high 48 points but it wasn’t enough to overcome 33 points and 10 rebounds from Kevin Durant and 31 points from Russell Westbrook as visiting Oklahoma City held off the Warriors to improve its NBA-leading record to 20-5.

Pacers 104, Jazz 99 - Danny Granger scored 12 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, and Darren Collison had 25 points to lead host Indiana.

Timberwolves 86, Kings 84 - Nikola Pekovic had 23 points and 10 rebounds to lead host Minnesota in its first game without the suspended Kevin Love. Love was suspended for two games Monday for stepping on Rockets forward Luis Scola last Saturday.

Suns 107, Bucks 105 - Steve Nash (18 points, 11 assists, 38th birthday) hit a driving layup with 5 seconds left, giving Phoenix a road victory.