MIAMI -- LeBron James has yet to win at AmericanAirlines Arena since leaving Miami and that trend continued Saturday night as the Miami Heat got 24 points from Dwyane Wade and defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 122-101.

Wade reached a significant milestone in a game the Heat never trailed. Midway through the third quarter, he became the 41st NBA player with 20,000 career points.

James had 26 points on 13-of-20 shooting from the field and added three rebounds and three assists as Cleveland (49-20), which leads the Eastern Conference, lost for just the third time in the past 11 games.

The Heat (40-29) are 4-0 in Miami since James left the team to return to Cleveland. The Cavaliers are 3-0 against the Heat in Cleveland during that same span.

Heat point guard Goran Dragic had 18 points and 11 assists and shooting guard Joe Johnson added 18 points.

Miami also got 19 points off the bench from rookie shooting guard Josh Richardson, who made 4 of 6 3-pointers. Heat reserve center Hassan Whiteside added 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Aside from James, Cleveland got 14 points from point guard Kyrie Irving. But Cavs forward Kevin Love was held to seven points. Richard Jefferson added 20 points off the bench.

The Heat, who were off Friday night, were the more rested team. The Cavaliers won at the Orlando Magic on Friday night -- clinching a playoff berth -- and then traveled to Miami.

Miami, which shot 61.9 percent from the floor in the first quarter, was hot from the start. The Heat closed the first quarter on an 11-2 run to take a 31-19 lead.

The Heat kept it going, finishing the second quarter on a 25-8 run to take a 65-44 lead into halftime. The Heat shot 61.1 percent from the floor in the first half and built a 13-2 advantage in second-chance points.

NOTES: SG Joe Johnson, who signed with Miami for the veteran's minimum for the rest of this season, said Cavaliers F LeBron James "reached out" to try to get him to sign with Cleveland. Johnson said he chose Miami because of Miami's faster style of play and the potential to stay on the team beyond this season. ... Miami appears to have a steal in rookie SG Josh Richardson, a second-round pick who is under contract for two years after this season. ... Heat C Hassan Whiteside's streak of 13 straight double-digit-rebound games off the bench ended on Thursday. He tied former Celtics star Paul Silas for the NBA record in that category. ... A couple hours before Saturday's game, Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said he would start C Timofev Mozgov, but then he changed his mind. Mozgov has started three of the last seven games. In two of those games, he was healthy but did not play because of matchups.