MIAMI (Ticker) -- The Miami Heat finally gave coach Stan Van Gundy his first win, ending a season-opening seven-game losing streak with an 88-83 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Eddie Jones scored 25 points and rookie Dwyane Wade and Lamar Odom added 14 apiece for the Heat, who became the last NBA team to win this season.
"It hasn't really sunk in," Van Gundy said. "I'm hapy for myself, but I'm very happy for the team.
"I wasn't doing cartwheels; I don't think you'd want to see me do that. This is the NBA and it's just one win, but everyone made a point to come over and congratulate me and that was nice."
Zydrunas Ilgauskas led Cleveland with 20 points and rookie sensation LeBron James added 18 and seven assists. Carlos Boozer grabbed 16 rebounds.
Jones' 3-pointer gave Miami its biggest lead at 86-77 with 4:25 left. But Cleveland responded with six straight points in the next 3 1/2 minutes to cut the deficit to 86-83.
The Cavaliers had an opportunity to tie the game with 18 seconds left, but an errant inbounds pass rolled off James' fingertips and out of bounds, Cleveland's eighth turnover of the period. Wade hit two free throws with 17 seconds left to seal the win.
"Eddie Jones hit it first and then it went off my fingertips," James said. "I tried to react, but it just happened so fast I couldn't save it."
Miami easily avoided the worst start in franchise history. The Heat began their inaugural 1988-89 season with 17 straight losses.
"Down the stretch, we really worked hard defensively," Van Gundy said. "The guys wanted the win really bad and it showed."
A goaltending call on Darius Miles' layup gave Cleveland a 61-60 lead with 6:53 to go in the third quarter. But the Heat closed the quarter with a 12-4 to build a 72-65 cushion and take a lead into the fourth period for the first time this season.
"If we took care of the ball, we probably would have won the game," said Davis, who had nine points and six turnovers. "We turned the ball over at critical moments."
