How many times have you seen LeBron/Durant penetrate into the lane and kick the ball out to an open shooter if/when the defense collapses?

By proxy, the number of corner threes a team gives up can measure its susceptibility to penetrate-and-kick actions.  So one would think that teams that give up more corner three attempts tend to give up a lot of penetration on drives, or also are teams that over-help.

The five teams that give up the most corner three attempts are…

Mar 29, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; Miami Heat power forward Chris Andersen (11) dunks over New Orleans Hornets power forward Anthony Davis (23) during the second half of a game at the New Orleans Arena. The Heat defeated the Hornets 108-89. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Heat lost for the first time in over a month at Chicago on Wednesday.  Everyone (including myself) wanted to know how the Heat would respond against the New Orleans Hornets.  How would they play?  How much of a toll has The Streak had on them (and their energy)?  What were the odds that Shane Battier would throw down an alley-oop wearing nothing but his beloved Harlem Shake horse-tronaut?

This was their rebound game, not just because the Heat need to find a way to rebound (dead last in the NBA), but also because they just got duped and dumped by the Heat and needed to get their mojo back (kinda like Kris Humphries for the rest of his life, or anybody that’s ever dated John Mayer).

The Heat did not disappoint.  They took a ten point lead after the first quarter and just piled it on — they ended the half with a 17 point lead, thanks to King James and his six consecutive threes.  Six consecutive threes.  To say he was on fire, would be a terrible pun (on so many levels) — but let’s be honest, LBJ was just unstoppable, finishing the game with a stat-line of 36 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and a super-efficient 13 of 20 from the field.  Oh, and he did that all in 32 minutes.  It was as if the King was holding court (more terrible puns!)  as the entire Heat team was 14 of 27 from the three (for all you non-nerds who didn’t calculate that mentally, that’s a whopping 51.6%) and 42 of 69 from the field (60.9%).

The Heat piled on their advantage, leading by as many as 27 points so I decided to switch channels and watch the Florida versus Florida Gulf Coast game  and the Hornets never even sniffed at a potential comeback, not even cutting the deficit to less than 17 points.  The biggest news coming out of this game had nothing to do with the game itself: Mario Chalmers was out for the first time this season with a sprained right ankle.  While Mike Miller replaced him, the big question is when this injury occurred, the severity of the injury, and if the rest was simply to help Chalmers deal with the small injuries that come with an 82 game NBA season.  He is listed as day-to-day and after the game Spoelstra said, “His (Chalmers’) injury isn’t a major concern right now, but his ankle is a bit swollen and we want to stay proactive and give him a rest tonight. We’ll evaluate him tomorrow.”  Keep posted on this, as Mario Chalmers is a very valuable member of this squad (even if he doesn’t get a ton of recognition for it).

Best Tweets:

The #HEAT have clinched the #1 record in the east!

— Team LeBron™ (@TeamLeBron_) March 30, 2013

.@dwyanewade on tonight’s #HEATwin: In a sense it felt like a home game here tonight, it was an awesome environment for us.

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) March 30, 2013

Spo on tonight’s #HEATwin: It was a competitive response, our guys came out much more aggressive.

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) March 30, 2013

Miami Heat haven’t lost 2 straight games since January 8 and 10, losing at the Pacers and at Trail Blazers.

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 29, 2013

Highlights: