The feeling of contributing to a fourth-quarter finish was something Heat forward Michael Beasley had not experienced in a few weeks.

It was foreign territory.

But there was Beasley late against Cleveland on Thursday, scoring, rebounding and doing what he could defensively to help Miami stay close in a 111-104 loss.

Beasley has had an up-and-down period as the Heat's starting power forward this season. But he hopes to build on his most stable effort of the season when the Heat (6-2) looks to regroup Saturday against New Jersey (0-8) at AmericanAirlines Arena.

If there was a silver lining in the loss to Cleveland, which prevented Miami from reaching the first 7-1 start in its history, it was Beasley's encouraging performance.

After he was not a factor at the finish in four consecutive games, Beasley went the distance down the stretch Thursday. It was the first time Beasley played all 12 minutes in the fourth this season. He had a season-high 24 points, along with six rebounds, two steals and a block.

More important, Beasley might have found a blueprint for playing to the finish.

``I can build on every game,'' said Beasley, who increased his season averages to 13.9 points and 5.6 rebounds. ``I definitely like playing in the last minutes of the game. But there are some things I need to work on defensively with my intensity finishing out the games.''

Beasley might have been overdue for a breakthrough. Although his defensive struggles have forced coach Erik Spoelstra to use unconventional matchups elsewhere to compensate, Thursday's game was an example of the Heat's need for Beasley's scoring to complement Dwyane Wade.

Spoelstra has insisted the Heat's defensive schemes -- which include having career power forward Udonis Haslem defend small forwards at times -- aren't designed to ``hide anybody.''

BEASLEY SCHEME

But the Heat clearly had to make adjustments to get Beasley on the court for the finish of the game. Miami closed the Cleveland game with Beasley, Wade, Mario Chalmers and Quentin Richardson receiving the bulk of playing time in the fourth. Haslem, who had played most of the power-forward minutes in recent games, rotated with center Jermaine O'Neal.

Spoelstra said Beasley's activity and focus must be consistent for him to remain a key part of late-game plans.

``Michael took a nice step forward,'' Spoelstra said of Beasley, who had not played more than 10 minutes in the second halves of the previous four games. ``After the initial part of the game, he got very aggressive. He had some very competitive rebounds in the second half and was aggressive going to the hole.''

Beasley said Spoelstra recently asked him to finish more plays at the rim with dunks. Beasley has carried out that plan. He opened Tuesday's game against Washington with a ferocious dunk for the Heat's first points of the eventual victory.

On Thursday, he snatched an offensive rebound on a missed free throw and dunked over Anderson Varejao. No, Wade wasn't the only one to flush on Cleveland's floppy-haired forward.

``I have to keep doing what I have to do and pull my weight,'' Beasley said. ``I think I gained a little bit of trust.''

CONFIDENCE REMAINS

One thing Beasley never lost during extended late-game stretches on the bench was his overall confidence.

``Mike is one of the most confident people in the NBA, so you never have to worry about that with him,'' Chalmers said. ``It's good for him to be out there when the game is on the line because he can really help us.''

Wade said Beasley must still be held accountable for his defensive missteps. But there aren't many concerns with Beasley's offense.

``Michael can score,'' Wade said. ``When Mike gets better, he can be a 20-10 [points-rebounds] guy on a bad night. He just has to continue to get comfortable with the role he has to play. As he gets it you'll see more of those nights.''