Heat 109, Bobcats 98: LeBron James had 31 points, nine assists and seven rebounds as visiting Miami completed a four-game sweep of Charlotte in the first-round Eastern Conference series.

Chris Bosh added 17 points and eight rebounds and Dwyane Wade scored 15 points for the Heat, who defeated the Bobcats for the 20th consecutive time. Norris Cole added 13 points off the bench for Miami, which will face either Toronto or Brooklyn in the next round.

Kemba Walker scored 29 points on 11-of-15 shooting for the Bobcats, who played without star center Al Jefferson (foot). Gary Neal scored 16 points and Chris Douglas-Roberts added 14 as Charlotte dropped to 0-8 in its playoff history.

The Heat led 99-86 after a 3-pointer by James Jones with 4:18 to play before Charlotte made a late run with six consecutive points. Bosh drained two jumpers and James scored a hoop with 1:54 to play as Miami put the game away.

Charlotte played a spirited first half and possessed a 54-52 edge at the break. The Bobcats held their final lead at 65-64 on Walker’s 3-pointer with seven minutes left in the third quarter before the Heat closed the stanza with a 20-6 push to take an 84-71 advantage into the fourth.

GAME NOTEBOOK: James has scored 30 or more points in 64 playoff games, second among active players behind Kobe Bryant (88). … Jefferson was injured in Game 1 and had continued to play through pain before a decision was made Monday to hold him out. … The Heat have won nine consecutive playoff series.