Although the calender still says November, some regular season NBA games are so thrilling that it feels like a playoff match. That was the case last night, as the Miami Heat hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers. Both teams electrified the crowd in South Beach and those watching on national television, but the Heat players’ lack of defense doomed them to a 104-111 loss.

Miami played well offensively, and had it buckled down on the other end of the floor, it would have won the game. The Heat exhibited a remarkable lack of awareness in defending pick-and-rolls. LeBron James paraded to the free-throw line 18 times, mostly when a Miami defender would foul him at the rim. When James wasn’t fouled, he would be free to dunk the ball. James also scored many of his points in transition. The Heat’s transition defense, which gave up 15 Cavalier fast-break points, clearly needs some help.

Miami’s inept pick-and-roll defense also paid dividends for Mo Williams and J.J. Hickson. Williams made five three-pointers, due in no small part to the open shots he received from picks. Mario Chalmers cannot allow Williams to get an open look at the basket. Chalmers needs to fight over the picks and contest his shots. Chalmers was effective sporadically on the offensive end of the court. If he had been more active, Williams would have had to stay honest on defense.

Hickson received most of his points off of pick-and-rolls that gave him easy dunks and layups. Neither Michael Beasley nor Udonis Haslem was able to fight over the picks and stay with the product out of N.C. State. Hickson, who averages four points per game this season, scored 18 last night. Someone whose offensive arsenal is layups and dunks should not score 18 points.

Although the Heat was able to keep things close throughout, the Cavs led for the vast majority of the game. Miami never could shut Cleveland down for an extended period of time to get a run going. Missing 10 free-throws didn’t help, either.

Still, there were a lot of positives for the Heat last night. The team played very well offensively. Dwyane Wade led Miami with 36 points on 9-of-21 shooting from the field and three-of-six shooting from downtown. The 6-foot-4 guard out of Marquette did make it to the free-throw line 21 times, but missed six of his attempts. He did a good job of drawing contact and driving to the rim. It’s unfortunate that he was somewhat off at the line.

Robert Duyos, Sun Sentinel

Of course, I can’t write about this game without mentioning “The Dunk.” After Jermaine O’Neal blocked a driving layup by James during the first quarter, Wade led the break and saw an open lane. Only one thing stood between Wade and the basket: Anderson Varejao. Fearlessly, Flash cleared for takeoff and completely demolished the Cavaliers forward on his way to the basket. Wade slammed the ball down with authority, drawing a standing ovation from the sell-out crowd and a grin from Michael Jordan, who sat next to Heat President Pat Riley. That dunk was probably the sickest of Wade’s career. A friend of mine told me today that Varejao should shave off his hair so people don’t know him as the man who Wade posterized. He should.

Beasley played very well offensively. He scored 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting and grabbed six rebounds, two of which were offensive. Beasley was not shy to take open jumpers, but also was aggressive enough to record two dunks last night. Defense, of course, was another story, but Beasley did have a nice block on Hickson in the third quarter.

Miami’s third-best offensive player, Jermaine O’Neal, held his own against Shaquille O’Neal. The Heat center scored 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting and a perfect five-of-five shooting from the free-throw line. The 6-foot-11 center from South Carolina also grabbed nine rebounds and two blocks. The 7-foot-1 center who used to play for the Heat had 14 points, five rebounds and zero blocks. O’Neal could have done more, and I was disappointed that Heat coach Erik Spoelstra did not run more plays for him. During one first-quarter sequence, Chalmers drew in the defense and gave a nice pass to O’Neal for a wide-open slam. Why didn’t Spoelstra call up that play again? Still, it was positive that O’Neal was up for the challenge.

Daequan Cook did return from his strained right shoulder that kept him out for five games. He went zero-for-four during the game, noticeably rusty. Dorell Wright logged 15 minutes of playing time. He defended James well and hooked up with Wade for a nice alley-oop at the close of the first half.

Miami still has some work to do to reach its full potential, but it can be very good offensively. The Heat will host the New Jersey Nets and the Oklahoma City Thunder next, two teams with a combined record of 4-12. It is imperative that Miami gets these wins before it goes on the road for three of its next four games.