Cavaliers vs. Heat: Score and Twitter Reaction from Christmas Day 2014

The return of LeBron James to Miami may have been the biggest story when the Cleveland Cavaliers faced the Miami Heat on Christmas, but it was a happy ending for Dwyane Wade and co., who beat the Cavs, 101-91.

Led by Wade (31 points, five rebounds, five assists) and Luol Deng (25 points, eight rebounds, eight assists), the Heat proved to be too much for James and the Cavs, ending Cleveland's three-game winning streak despite the absence of Chris Bosh.

James was blunt about where his team stands after the game via Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com:

Very quietly, it was Deng who stole the show, as Matt Winer of Turner Sports noted:

Ethan J. Skolnick of Bleacher Report wondered if this performance will propel Deng to bigger things going forward: 

James didn't disappoint against his former team, however, scoring 30 points and adding eight assists. Kyrie Irving had a strong evening as well, going for 25 points, while Kevin Love scored 14 points and pulled down five rebounds.

Still, had James been a bit more clinical from the free-throw line, this might have been a different game. Consider this tidbit from ESPN Stats & Info:

But everyone's interest was centered on James' return to Miami. Before the game, James talked to Bleacher Report about his feelings on the subject. You can see the full video below:

While there were questions as to how the Heat fans would treat James in his return, it was quickly obvious that a good portion of the arena was willing to welcome him back warmly. The reaction from the crowd was mixed but generally positive.

The NBA's Twitter feed passed along this video of his introduction:

Max Bretos of ESPN offered one theory as to why Miami fans likely wouldn't deride James too harshly in his return:

The Heat also paid James a video tribute early in the game. He waved back to the crowd and appeared to become somewhat emotional as he returned to the court. The NBA captured footage of the moment:

While James' return was sure to steal the headlines leading up to the game, Wade quickly made himself the story in the first half, scoring 24 points, willing the Heat to a 62-49 lead after two quarters and providing one of the highlights of the game with this monster jam:

James had 15 points at the half. He also had this ridiculous assist to Kyrie Irving:

The Cavs endured a pretty huge scare in the third quarter, however, as James had to leave the game with what appeared to be a leg injury. He was deemed able to return after it turned out to be minor, however, as Marc Stein of ESPN noted:

James quickly proved the injury wasn't terribly serious as he hammered home this monstrous dunk, however.

Despite the Heat leading for much of the game and at one point racing out to a 17-point advantage, the Cavs battled back late, taking a 78-77 lead with 11:19 left in the fourth quarter. But the Heat outscored them, 24-13, the rest of the way, spoiling James' return to Miami.

Love was asked about the performance of the defense and had an interesting answer via McMenamin:

One of the key reasons the Heat came away with the win was points in the paint, something Miami has struggled with this season as ESPN Stats & Info points out:

While this game was an emotional moment for James, it was clearly more important for the Heat, who are just 14-16 on the season and perhaps looking to prove they could turn things around without their former star player. The Heat are likely to reach the playoffs in a pretty thin Eastern Conference, but they haven't looked like title contenders early in the season.

This may be the signature win to get them back on track.

As for Cleveland, it can get by on talent alone most evenings, though it's evident the James-Irving-Love experiment is still a work in progress. The Cavs remain one of the favorites in the East, no doubt, but contests like this have made it pretty clear that this team still has some serious blemishes.