NEW YORK: Chris Bosh scored 25 points, LeBron James had a near-triple-double and the Miami Heat stifled the Philadelphia 76ers to fashion a 101-86 victory and snap a three-game slide.
James finished with 21 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds for Miami (28-11), who last lost three straight in January 2012.
The 76ers (13-26), who lost for the fifth time in six games, made just two of their 20 three-point attempts. Miami also blocked 12 shots, five by Bosh, and forced 22 turnovers.
The Los Angeles Clippers matched a season-high five straight wins after knocking off the New York Knicks 109-95.
Blake Griffin led the Clippers with 32 points, Jamal Crawford came off the bench to record 29 points and DeAndre Jordan registered his 18th double-double with 11 points and 16 rebounds.
The Clippers (28-13), who lead the Pacific Division, are now 5-1 since Chris Paul separated his shoulder on Jan. 4.
The Knicks (15-24) dropped their third in a row after capturing five straight. Carmelo Anthony led five Knicks in double figures with 26 points and 20 rebounds.
Kyle Lowry scored 24 points and added six assists and five rebounds and the Toronto Raptors defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 94-89 to extend their home winning streak to six.
It was the Raptors’ 10th win in a row over the Timberwolves at Air Canada Centre.
The Raptors (20-18) have won 17 of 18 from the Timberwolves (18-21).
The depleted Los Angeles Lakers staged a rally down the stretch and defeated an old foe, spoiling point guard Rajon Rondo’s return to the Boston lineup.
The Lakers scored the game’s final 11 points and pulled out a 107-104 victory over the Celtics.
The Lakers ended a six-game overall losing streak and a seven-game road skid.
Rondo, out since tearing his right ACL on Jan. 25 last year, became Boston’s 15th captain before the game and playing four five-minute “shifts,” he scored eight points.
John Wall had 23 points and 11 assists as the Washington Wizards won their third straight game and second over the Chicago Bulls this week with a 96-93 victory.
Martell Webster and Bradley Beal each had 14 points for the Wizards (19-19), who reached .500 for the third time this season.
Washington, who have yet to post a winning record at any point this season, shot 50.6 percent from the field in the seesaw affair that included 12 lead changes and 11 ties before leaving the Bulls at 18-20.
Utah rookie point guard Trey Burke pumped in 20 points and had a career-high 12 assists to propel the Jazz to a 110-89 win over Detroit.
Burke, who led the University of Michigan to the national championship game last season, got a measure of revenge against the Michigan pro team that passed on him during the draft lottery in June.
The player Detroit (16-23) selected ahead of Burke, shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, was limited to five points as Utah improved to (14-27).
Veteran center Al Jefferson had 30 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Charlotte Bobcats to a 111-101 victory over the hapless Orlando Magic.
The Magic (10-30) lost their 10th consecutive game, the longest current streak in the NBA.
Josh McRoberts had 17 points, including a season-high five three-pointers for the Bobcats (17-24), and Kemba Walker had 19 points and 10 assists.
Forward LaMarcus Aldridge had 26 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 109-100 win over the San Antonio Spurs.
Aldridge was 11 of 22 from the field and hit all four free throws as the Trail Blazers (30-9) staved off a furious comeback from San Antonio.
Guards Wesley Matthews added 24 points, Damian Lillard 21 and Mo Williams 13 for Portland.
Guard Manu Ginobili scored a season-high 29 points to lead San Antonio (31-9).
Portland outscored San Antonio 19-11 down the stretch to seal the win.
Forward Kevin Durant scored a new career-high 54 points in leading the Oklahoma City Thunder past the Golden State Warriors 127-121.
Durant took 39 points into the fourth quarter before adding 15 points to put the game away.
It was Durant’s sixth straight game of at least 30 points and third game of more than 40 in January.
Oklahoma City (30-10) forward Serge Ibaka added 21 points and eight rebounds while the Warriors (25-16) got 37 points on 11-for-18 shooting from guard Seth Curry.
The Memphis Grizzlies were down seven points with 4:01 to play but closed the fourth quarter with a 10-2 run to defeat the Sacramento Kings 91-90.
The Grizzlies (20-19) moved above .500 for the first time since they were 9-8 on Dec. 3 and extended their winning streak to five games.
Memphis point guard Mike Conley led all scorers with 25 points and had six assists.
Guard Kyrie Irving scored 23 points, forward Tristan Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Cleveland Cavaliers held off the Denver Nuggets for a 117-109 win.
Guard C.J. Miles and forward Luol Deng added 18 points each for Cleveland. Forward Wilson Chandler scored 23 points and guard Ty Lawson had 19 points and 11 assists for the Nuggets, who had their four-game home winning streak stopped.
Guard Monta Ellis collected 24 points, six rebounds and seven assists and forward Dirk Nowitzki added 21 points as the Dallas Mavericks led from wire to wire but had to hang on to beat the Phoenix Suns 110-107.
The Suns had one last chance to tie the score in the final seconds after a basket by Phoenix guard Goran Dragic cut the Mavericks’ lead to three with 6.7 seconds left but P.J. Tucker’s shot from the deep right corner spun out.
REUTERS
