Heat 114, 76ers 90
LeBron James had 16 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for his 35th career triple-double and the Miami Heat cruised to their 10th straight win, beating the host Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night.
Dwyane Wade had 33 points, Mario Chalmers scored 14 and Chris Bosh added 13 to help the defending NBA champions improve to 39-14. The Heat have a comfortable 5½-game lead over Indiana in the Eastern Conference.
Jrue Holiday scored 21 points and Nick Young had 19 for Philadelphia.
A rare sellout crowd turned out for the nightcap of an NHL/NBA doubleheader at the Wells Fargo Center to see James, Wade and Co.
Fans roared when Spencer Hawes rejected James’ shot late in the first quarter, swatting the ball back at the three-time NBA MVP’s face.
Many of the same people jumped to their feet and cheered when James threw down a thunderous dunk off an alley-oop pass from Norris Cole late in the third quarter. By that time, the Heat were up 85-63 and the crowd was more interested in seeing James make a highlight play than rooting for the Sixers.
James got his first “Ooohs” and “Ahhhs” after a no-look backdoor pass to Bosh for an easy layup in the first. Chalmers followed with a rainbow 3-pointer and a reverse lay-up to give the Heat a 24-22 lead and they never trailed again.
Wizards 105, Rocket 103
Bradley Beal scored 21 points, and Emeka Okafor had 17 points, 11 rebounds and made the go-ahead free throw with 5.2 seconds remaining to help host Washington overcome Houston’s 3-point barrage. Trevor Ariza added 18 points for the Wizards, who came back from a 17-point deficit. Chandler Parsons had 24 points with five of the 19 3-pointers by the Rockets. Houston attempted 46 3-pointers, the most in the NBA this season.
Pacers 90, Pistons 72
David West scored 16 points and Paul George added a double-double to help Indiana easily beat host Detroit for the second time in as many nights. The Pacers won 114-82 Friday night in Indianapolis, and led by as many as 21 in the return leg. George finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds for Indiana, which had five players in double figures and got Danny Granger on the floor for the first time this season. The Pistons started the game by missing 16 of their first 17 shots.
Nuggets 113, Bobcats 99
JaVale McGee had 17 points, including seven dunks, and Denver snapped a four-game road losing streak with a victory over host Charlotte. The Nuggets scored 66 points in the paint behind 14 dunks to snap the skid. Ty Lawson had nine of his 20 points in the final quarter and handed out five assists as the Nuggets broke open a close game early in the fourth with a flurry of fast-break points.
Hawks 103, Bucks 102
Al Horford’s hook shot with 5.9 seconds remaining lifted Atlanta over host Milwaukee in a game that was close throughout. Horford’s shot came after a driving layup by Monta Ellis had given the Bucks a 102-101 lead with 10.8 seconds left. Horford had 23 points and 11 rebounds and Jeff Teague also scored 23 and added nine assists for Atlanta.
