LeBron James tallied 22 points and Chris Bosh had 18 points and six rebounds as the Miami Heat downed the Brooklyn Nets 94-82 in game two of their Eastern Conference playoff series.
The two-time defending NBA champs took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series with game three set for Saturday night in New York.
"We anticipated this would be a grind," said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. "We had to gut this one out."
Dwyane Wade scored 14 points and Ray Allen bagged all of his 13 points in the second half for Miami, who have won eight consecutive playoff contests dating back to game six of the 2013 championship series.
Eight straight wins equals a franchise record, which they achieved twice before.
Veteran Ray Allen came off the bench to finish with 13 points and eight rebounds. Allen said he has been gearing up all season to contribute to a long playoff run.
"This is the part of the season we prepare our bodies for. This is when we start getting better," he said. "I am built for this. At all times, I am ready."
Spoelstra said Allen helped spark the team.
"Ray was playing with a great motor. We were getting our best action with him running around," he said.
Miami swept the Charlotte Bobcats in four games in round one.
In the Western Conference, the San Antonio Spurs beat the Portland Trail Blazers 114-97 to also take a 2-0 lead in their semi-final playoff series.
Kawhi Leonard scored 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting and Tony Parker had 16 with 10 assists for the top-seeded Spurs.
Portland hosts game three on Saturday.
"We did our part and won both games at home but the series starts when you win on the road and we know it's one of the toughest arenas to play," Parker said.
"They play really well at home and they have a great crowd, so it's going to a about how we handle these next two games."
Manu Ginobili also netted 16 points, Marco Belinelli added 13, Boris Diaw had 12 while Tiago Splitter contributed 10 with as many rebounds for the Spurs, whose bench outscored Portland's reserves 50-19.
"What that shows is we're all contributing and we're all feeling important," Ginobili said.
"It's frustrating to get blown out in game one and not have enough in game two," Portland coach Terry Stotts said.
"They're one of the best in that they keep coming at you in waves but we'll be ready in game three."
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