Another night, another hamstring scare for Miami's Big Three.

LeBron James left the Heat's 96-85 exhibition win against CSKA Moscow in the third quarter, clutching his right upper leg and grimacing as he walked to the locker room Tuesday night.

The good news: James was merely cramping, according to a Heat spokesman -- nothing as serious as the hamstring strain that has sidelined Dwyane Wade for the past week.

Still, for about 10 minutes Tuesday, a sick fear swept through AmericanAirlines Arena that Chris Bosh would be Miami's lone remaining healthy superstar.

The cramping occurred with 3 minutes 51 seconds left in the third period. James took himself out of the lineup after making two free throws, which gave him a team-high 22 points.
James' discomfort appeared serious enough that Wade, who missed his third consecutive game, followed the two-time MVP into the tunnel. But the team's training staff quickly determined the pain James was feeling wasn't serious.

Whereas James was left limping Tuesday, Wade is ``virtually pain-free'' and is already back exercising, according to Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.

``We are not going to rush it,'' Spoelstra said of Wade's rehab.

If nothing else, the James scare slowed a furious second-half run by Miami, which struggled with Moscow's zone defense and free-shooting offense.

Yet, although good strategy can can keep teams in a game, talent usually wins it.
Such was the case Tuesday.

Chris Bosh scored 17 points on 8-of-14 shooting and led the Heat with seven rebounds. Miami made 48.7 percent of its field-goal attempts to mask 17 turnovers.

EARLY STRUGGLESFor stretches of the first half, the Heat forgot to defend the perimeter, leaving shooters open and, with Wade sidelined, lacked continuity on offense.


Lucky for the Heat, it's back to facing isolation offense and man defense come Wednesday, when the team travels to New Orleans.

CSKA Moscow, commonly known as the Red Army team because of its Soviet-era prominence, featured a some noteworthy names -- including former Duke guard Trajan Langdon -- sprinkled amid a largely anonymous roster.

With Wade sidelined, Miami's backcourt was ragged to start. Six minutes into the game, the Heat had more turnovers (four) than field goals (three).

Moscow took advantage, as Ramunas Siskauskas drained four of his first five field shots for nine first-quarter points.

Meanwhile, Mario Chalmers and Patrick Beverley took turns throwing away even the simplest passes early in the game.

Miami closed with a second-quarter run, but CSKA finished the half on a 10-5 push to take a five-point lead into the break -- even with James drilling a pull-up jumper at the buzzer.

PICKING UP THE PACE
 But the Heat figured things out at the half, opening the third quarter on a 15-5 run -- emphasis on run.

Pressure defense and full-throttle offense caught the visitors flat-footed, with James a menace in the open court.
James scored six points in the second half's first four minutes, then played facilitator. He found Mike Miller for an easy layup, then dished to Bosh for an open jumper.

Finally, the Heat was as good as advertised.

Then James cramped up