Cavs and Heat Take Rio's Embrace to Heart, End Eventful Week in Friendly Style.

Original Post By Ethan Skolnick, NBA Senior Writer , http://bleacherreport.com/

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RIO DE JANEIRO — After welcoming the Brazilian fans to thisNBA exhibition in English, Heat center Chris Bosh finished with one word, properly delivered: "Obrigado!" 

He was lustily cheered.   

And quickly upstaged.   

Appropriately so, because that seems the Heat's fate of late, and especially during the past four days. 

It's tough to compete with a national hero addressing the crowd entirely in its native language.

"Va-re-jao! Va-re-jao!" 

Similarly, it will be tough for other preseason games to compete with this one. Not just for its plethora of storylines, some manufactured or distorted, but also for the spirit shown by both sides, and especially by those in attendance at the HSBC Arena.

It wasn't a surprise that the Cavaliers, behind Anderson Varejao early and Kevin Love in the middle, controlled much of Saturday's contest, doing little to dissuade the bookmakers who have rated them roughly 15 games better than Miami this season. It was a bit more of a surprise when the Heat's rally in the sub-heavy fourth quarter, behind rookies Shabazz Napier and James Ennis, led to a "Let's Go Heat!" chant, even with Varejao and LeBron James on the other side. 

So, yes, this exhibition, ultimately won 122-119 by Cleveland, meant more than most, to the participants as well as the spectators. That was evident as every player not on the court stood in front of the bench for the final few minutes. That was evident as Erik Spoelstra was storming onto the court, sweating up a storm, even if sometimes with a smile.

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What meant the absolute most, though, was that it—if a bit belatedly—ended. 

Rio may be a place that much of the world comes to get away.

But noise travels first-class and at warp speed, and it found both teams here. 

"It really benefits both teams to get the awkwardness out of the way before the regular season," Spoelstra said, putting a most positive possible spin on it. 

"I like that we can let everybody see it so we can move on," Bosh said of the Heat-Cavaliers dynamic.

Now it benefits both teams to get away from each other, at least until Christmas comes around. Now they can get back to what matters: rounding off their respective rough edges. 

Each is a project-in-progress, even if Cleveland's expectations are significantly higher. James (2-of-8, eight assists in 21 minutes) is still working to connect with his new teammates, and the Heat are trying to find a new identity, while missing the man who made everything work for them.

Cleveland may know the type of talent it has on its roster, with its versatile and diverse nine-man rotation, but it won't know what it is until encountering a season's worth of scrutiny and adversity. Miami can't get a true sense of its game until Josh McRoberts returns to health, odd and potentially disconcerting to some as that may sound. 

Now each squad can return to that lengthy discovery period without burning quite so much unnecessary energy going round and round the gossip wheel, asked to respond to quotes that, in some cases, have been taken out of proper context to create the biggest buzz.

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The teams certainly didn't need to see much of each other to hear about each other—and the fact that they didn't see other much somehow became an issue, too.

In reality, teams on these sorts of trips rarely spend much time together, especially when their hotels (one in Ipanema and one in Copacabana) are separated by three miles in a high-traffic area, and when their practices don't overlap. Six players on each side did participate in the NBA Cares clinic at Flamengo sports complex on Thursday, though James and Bosh weren't among them.

Only one event promised unavoidable interaction prior to Saturday, a combined get-together on Friday inside a crowded mansion at Parque Lage, a public park in Rio. 

The Heat contingent arrived earlier than that of the Cavaliers, and many of their employees mingled, including those who recently worked for the opposite side.

Players were largely separated—as they nibbled on hors d'oeuvres, posed for photos with partygoers and watched a Capoeira performance—until they started to head toward the buses after roughly 45 minutes. Then, if you were standing anywhere near the entrance to the main room, you could see the worlds about to collide.

And, no, fists did not fly. 

Instead, there were nearly 10 minutes of hugs, hand slaps and hearty laughs, from a small but expanding inner circle of people that included James, Wade, Norris Cole and Udonis Haslem, as everyone else—arms reaching high to extend camera phones—closed in.

Yes, Heat higher-ups were disappointed with James' level of communication during the free agency process, which left them feeling blindsided. But, of the six Heat holdovers who spent significant time as James' teammate, none has revealed any issue with him.

Chris Andersen still wears his shoes. Cole worked out with him over the summer and now shares an agent. Wade toasted him at his own wedding.

And Bosh? Well, it's safe to say that some are reading way too much into what he's said, including his quotes for this story, which were not meant in any manner to rip James or anyone else. 

So, while James said Friday he was "surprised" by some of the Heat comments, which he may have not heard or read in their original form, it shouldn't have been any surprise that the teams played nice on the court Saturday. 

Felipe Dana/Associated Press

James patted the front and back of all five Heat starters (four of them former teammates) before the opening tip.

"It was normal, routine stuff," Bosh said. 

So were the fouls against James. The Heat refrained from anything other than typical, hold-in-transition, contest-at-the-rim fouls. Again, no one should have expected any different. 

"It was a special moment for me to be out there competing against my old teammates," James said. "I didn't get that awkward feeling. But a lot of memories came back." 

Other memories were made this week, on and off the floor, and many by the fans, who roared when the Cavaliers pulled away in the second quarter while the teams played tight, traditional rotations, and roared more as the Heat rallied back with subs on the floor.

They seemed amazed by everything, from the videos to the dancers to the introduction of luminaries such as Pat Riley, Gary Payton, Steve Smith and Alonzo Mourning, even giving those four a prolonged standing ovation.

And then, at the end, the players got a taste of the Brazilian media, hearing questions in two languages, including one to James about whether Varejao should straighten his hair if the Cavaliers win the championship. 

So it was a special few days, closed by quite a good show—the perfect way to shout "Obrigado" to Rio.

And then, it was time to go. 

Ethan Skolnick covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter,@EthanJSkolnick.